JOHN ADAMS.

THE ancestors of John Adams were virtuous, humble and respectable. His father, John Adams, senior, was for several years a deacon of the first church in Braintree, Massachusetts, and for a long period acted a conspicuous part in the municipal affairs of that town. He is described as "a man of strict piety, and great integrity; much esteemed and beloved, wherever he was known, which was not far, his sphere of life being not extensive." In the latter part of October, 1734, this John Adams was married to Susannah, a daughter of Peter Boylston, by whom he had three children. John, the subject of this memoir, was the eldest, and was born at Braintree, on the nineteenth of October, 1735. At an early age he was placed under the tuition of Mr. Joseph Marsh, the minister of the first Congregational church of his native town, and subsequently with Mr. Joseph Cleverly, a reader of the Episcopal church at the same place. He entered Harvard College at the age of sixteen years, and in due course graduated, a finished scholar, bearing a high reputation for frankness, honesty and indefatigable industry. From college he went to Worcester, and became a teacher of the grammar school. This occupation afforded little satisfaction to him. "As a haughty monarch ascends his throne," he said, in a letter to a friend, "the pedagogue mounts his awful great chair, and dispenses right and justice through his whole empire. His obsequious subjects execute the imperial mandates with cheerfulness, and think it their high happiness to be employed in the service of the emperor. Sometimes paper, sometimes his penknife, now birch, now arithmetic, now a ferule, then A B C, then scolding, then thwacking, calls for the pedagogue's attention. At length, his spirits all exhausted, down comes pedagogue from his throne, and walks out in awful solemnity, through a cringing multitude. In the afternoon, he passes through the same dreadful scenes, smokes his pipe and goes to bed. * The school is indeed a school of affliction. A large number of little runtlings, just capable of lisping A B C, and troubling the master. But Dr. Savil tells me for my comfort, 'by cultivating and pruning these tender plants in the garden of Worcester, I shall make some of them plants of renown and cedars of Lebanon.' However this be, I am certain that keeping this school any length of time would make a base weed and ignoble shrub of me."* In 1756 Mr. Adams joined to the labors of his school, that of the study of law. Necessity drove me to this determination, he says in his diary, but my inclination, I think, was to preach; however, that would not do. He continued in this course of double duty and "hard fortune" for two years, after which he returned to his native town and commenced the practice of his profession. After the death of his father, which occurred in May, 1761, he continued to reside at the family mansion until his marriage, in the fall of 1764.

* * *

The first prominent public duty to which Mr. Adams was called, was connected with the Stamp Act difficulties, in 1765. One of the consequences of that act was the closing of the courts of justice in the province. Mr. Adams, associated with Jeremiah Gridley and James Otis, was deputized to appear as counsel for the town of Boston, before the governor and council, in support of its memorial, urging the opening of the courts. "It fell upon me," he says, "without one moment's opportunity to consult any authorities, to open an argument upon a

Life and Works of John Adams, vol. 1, p. 27.

question that was never made before,—whether the courts of law should be open or not? I grounded my argument on the invalidity of the stamp act, it not being in any sense our act, having never consented to it; but, lest that foundation should not be sufficient, on the present necessity to prevent a failure of justice, and the present impossibility of carrying that act into execution.* This argument had no weight with the governor, who considered the matter in question as "belonging to the courts to decide." However, after a short delay, the courts were opened, and in a few weeks the stamp act was repealed. The same year (1765) the valuable dissertations on the canon and feudal law, appeared in the Boston Gazette. These were written by Mr. Adams, and attracted much attention in the old as well as the new world. Early in 1768, Mr. Adams removed to Boston, where, soon after, the office of advocate general in the court of admiralty was tendered him by Governor Bernard. This he refused. From this period he became deeply involved in the duties of his profession, and gradually attained a high position at the bar.

At the trials of Captain Preston and the British soldiers, for the violence committed by them on the evening of the fifth of March, 1770, Mr. Adams and Josiah Quincy, Jr., appeared in behalf of the prisoners. Mr. Quincy opened the defence with great power and eloquence, and was followed by Mr. Adams, who confined himself to "a clear recapitulation of the principles of the common law in cases of homicide." The soldiers were acquitted.

The extensive labors of his profession, together with the frequent obligations he was subjected to, to perform some arduous duties connected with public affairs, began to work with serious effects upon his health. On this account he was compelled to relinquish much of his business and political affairs, abandon his house in the town, and return to his native village. This he did in the spring of 1771, retaining his office in Boston. The air of "still, calm, happy Braintree, and the fine health-laden breezes from the sea," together with the amusements incident to a country life, soon restored him to health, and in 1773 he again entered the arena of politics, contributing a series of papers to the Massachusetts Gazette, on the independence of the judiciary, in answer to the rumor that the salaries of the colonial judges were to be paid by the Crown, a measure looked upon by many of the colonists as productive of much injury. These papers are rich in professional learning, and effected the purpose for which they were intended.

With the arrival of General Gage, in 1774, commences a new chapter in the life of Mr. Adams. The stagnation of trade and commerce, brought about by the closing of the port of Boston, had reduced the emoluments of his profession to a merely nominal sum, and the picture of the future then spread before him was dark, sad and gloomy enough. But he was not dispirited. "We live, my dear soul, in an age of trial," he said in a letter to his wife. "What will be the consequence, I know not. The town of Boston, for aught I can see, must suffer martyrdom. It must expire. And our principal consolation is, that it dies in a noble causethe cause of truth, of virtue, of liberty, and of humanity, and that it will probably have a glo rious resurrection to greater wealth, splendor and power than ever." He then continued, advising a retrenchment in the expense of his family, and a strict frugality, that they might be able to contribute to the appeals of the suffering. "Don't imagine from all this that I am in the dumps," he said. "Far otherwise; I can truly say that I have felt more spirits and activity since the arrival of this news than I have done for years. I look upon this as the last effort of Lord North's despair, and he will as surely be defeated in it as he was in the project of the tea. About this time the House of Representatives of Massachusetts attempted to place Mr. Adams in the council of General Gage, but the attempt was frustrated by the refusal of the governor to receive him. In 1774 he was elected a member of the Congress which met in September of that year, and upon its organization, took his seat. Of many of the important committees of this

* Diary of John Adams, 2d vol. of the Works, page 158.

+ See the speeches of Mr. Adams and Mr. Quincy, in the subsequent pages of this volume.

Life and Works of John Adams, vol. 1, page 143. The Boston Port bill went into operation on the first of June, 1774 Business terminated at noon; the harbor was closed against all vessels, and the people were deprived of the means of obtaining the necessaries of life. Contributions were raised in other cities for their relief, and the inhabitants of Marblehead tendered the use of their wharves to the merchants of the oppressed city.

Congress he was a member, and rendered eminent service in the preparation of some of the state papers of that body. He remained in Congress until the autumn of 1777, when he was chosen a commissioner to the Court of France, in the place of Silas Deane, who had been appointed the previous year, with Dr. Franklin and Arthur Lee, "to negotiate treaties with foreign powers." On the thirteenth of February, 1778, he sailed from Mount Wollaston, in Braintree, taking with him his eldest son, John Quincy Adams; and on the eighth of April following arrived at Paris. He learned on his arrival that Dr. Franklin and Mr. Lee had concluded the treaties of alliance and commerce between France and the American Colonies, and all that remained to be done was their ratification. After continuing in Europe a few months, without waiting for a recall he returned to Boston, where he arrived on the second of August, 1779. On his arrival, he was elected to the convention which formed the constitution of Massachusetts, and as a member of the committee, prepared the draught of that instrument. While in this position he was appointed by Congress "a minister plenipotentiary for negotiating a treaty of peace and a treaty of commerce with Great Britain."

This appointment he accepted, and on the afternoon of the thirteenth of November, sailed on board the French Frigate, The Sensible. After a long and tedious passage he reached Paris, and at once entered upon the arduous duties of his mission. A short time subsequent to the appointment of Mr. Adams to this service, Henry Laurens was appointed to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with the United Netherlands. On his passage to Europe he was captured by a British cruiser, and confined in the Tower at London. On the receipt of the intelligence of Mr. Laurens' misfortune, Mr. Adams proceeded to the Netherlands. Soon after he received a commission from Congress to negotiate a loan, and to conclude a treaty of amity and commerce with the States General of Holland, with instructions to accede to any treaty of neutrality that might arise from regulations to be perfected by a Congress of the European States, then in contemplation. For the next two years the career of Mr. Adams exhibits an overwhelming variety of duties.

Congress, in 1781, made a new appointment of commissioners for concluding a treaty of peace with Great Britain. These were Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, Thomas Jefferson, and Mr. Adams. A provisional treaty was signed at Paris in November, 1782, and a definitive treaty concluded on the third of September of the following year. While the treaty was under consideration Mr. Adams arrived in Paris from Holland, where he had resided for a greater portion of his time since his arrival from America, and on its conclusion he again returned to Holland, where he remained until 1784. In February, 1785, he was appointed by Congress the first minister plenipotentiary from the United States to Great Britain, and in the subsequent May removed to England. His course in this position is too familiar to require notice here. On his return home in 1788, he was elected the first Vice President of the United States, under the Federal Constitution, in which position he remained during the eight years' administration of Washington, on the termination of which he was elected President.* Soon

* On the day of his inauguration, March 4th, 1797, Mr. Adams was in his sixty-second year. He was dressed in a full suit of pearl-colored broadcloth, with powdered hair. He was then bald on the top of his head. Mr. Adams was of middle stature and full person, and of slow, deliberate manner unless he was excited, and when this happened he expressed himself with great energy. He was a man of strong mind, of great learning, and of eminent ability to use knowledge, both in speech and writing. He was ever a man of purest morals; and is said to have been a firm believer in Christianity, not from habit and example, but from diligent investigations of its proofs. He had an uncompromising regard for his own opinion, and was strongly contrasted with Washington in this respect. He seemed to have supposed that his opinions could not be corrected by those of other men, nor bettered by any comparison. He had been from early manhood a zealous patriot, and had rendered most essential services to his country, at home and abroad. These he always seems to have had in mind. He well remembered the painful struggles experienced in Europe, to obtain aid for the patriots at home, and an acknowledgment of independence from governments there, while the war was yet regarded in England as rebellion. He ought to have known, as would seem from his own writings, in what manner public services are estimated. An individual can easily remember how much good he has done to a community; but those who are benefited as easily forget. If public ingratitude is common, it is also very natural. It is not improbable that Mr. Adams was impatient in finding how much more the easily-understood services of military men were appreciated, than were the secluded though no less important ones of diplomatic agency and cabinet counsel. So made up from natural propensities, and from the circumstances of his life, Mr. Adams came to the presidency at the time when more forbearance and discretion were required than he is supposed to have had. He seems to have been deficient in the rare excellence of attempting to see himself as others

after his retirement from the Presidency, the office of Governor of his native State was tendered him. This honor he declined, on account of his advanced age and a desire to remain in the quietude of his home.

On the assembling of the Massachusetts convention for the revision of the constitution of that State, he was chosen President of that body. This was his last public act. He died on the afternoon of the Fourth of July, 1826. A remarkable particular in the last scene of his varied and memorable life is thus given by one of his cotemporaries. The jubilee of independence roused his declining faculties. He inquired the cause of the salutes, and was told it was the Fourth of July. He answered, "It is a great and glorious day," and never spake more. Thus his last thoughts and latest words were like those of his whole life-thoughts and words which evinced a soul replete with love of country and interest in her welfare.*

SPEECH IN DEFENCE OF THE SOLDIERS.†

the court, expressed by the clerk, to the Supreme Judge of judges, empires, and worlds, "God send you a good deliverance."

This speech was delivered by Mr. Adams in the trial of William Weems, James Hartigan, and others, soldiers in His Majesty's TwentyWe find, in the rules laid down by the greatninth regiment, for the murder of Crispus At-est English judges, who have been the brightest tucks, Samuel Gray, and others, on Monday of mankind:-we are to look upon it as more evening, the fifth of March, 1770.‡ beneficial that many guilty persons should escape unpunished than one innocent person should suffer. The reason is, because it is of more importance to the community that innocence should be protected than it is that guilt should be punished; for guilt and crimes are so frequent in the world that all of them cannot be punished; and many times they happen in such a manner that it is not of much consequence to the public whether they are punished or not. But when innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, especially to die, the subject will exclaim, it is immaterial to me whether I behave well or ill, for virtue itself is no security. And if such a sentiment as this should take place in the mind of the subject, there would be an end to all security whatsoever. I will read the words of the law itself.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONORS, AND YOU, GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY: I am for the prisoners at the bar, and shall apologize for it only in the words of the Marquis Beccaria: "If I can but be the instrument of preserving one life, his blessings and tears of transport shall be a sufficient consolation to me for the contempt of all mankind." As the prisoners stand before you for their lives, it may be proper to recollect with what temper the law requires we should proceed to this trial. The form of proceeding at their arraignment has discovered that the spirit of the law upon such occasions is conformable to humanity, to common sense and feeling; that it is all benignity and candor. And the trial commences with the prayer of

saw him; and he ventured to act as though everybody saw as he saw himself. He considered only what was right in his own view, and that was to be carried by main force,

whatever were the obstacles.-Familiar Letters on Public Characters, pp. 146-147.

*Thomas Jefferson died on the same day with Mr. Adams.

Mr. Jefferson's death occurred at ten minutes before one

o'clock, and Mr. Adams' at five o'clock, P. M. The Declara

tion of Independence was first read to the people at Phila

The rules I shall produce to you from Lord Chief Justice Hale, whose character as a lawyer, a man of learning and philosophy, and a Christian, will be disputed by nobody living; one of the greatest and best characters the English nation ever produced. His words are these (2 H. H. P. C.): Tutius semper est errare misericordiæ quam ex parte justitia-it is alin acquietando quam in puniendo, ex parte ways safer to err in acquitting than punishing, on the part of mercy than the part of justice. The next is from the same authority, 305. Tutius erratur ex parte mitiori-it is always safer + This speech is taken from a report of the trial, "taken to err on the milder side, the side of mercy. in short-hand by John Hodgson," and "published by per- H. H. P. C. 509: The best rule in doubtful mission of the Court," in Boston, 1770. A copy of this pamcases is rather to incline to acquittal than conphlet, which makes nearly two hundred and fifty closely-viction; and in page 300: Quod dubitas, ne feceprinted pages, is in the Library of the New York Historical Society.

delphia, at a quarter before five o'clock, on the Fourth of

July, 1776.-Christian Journal: Pennsylvania Packet:

Freeman's Journal, 1777: Judson's Biography of the

Signers.

See note at page 60.

ris-where you are doubtful, never act; that is, if you doubt of the prisoner's guilt, never declare him guilty. This is always the rule, espe

aforethought; the second is manslaughter, which is killing a man on a sudden provocation. Here, gentlemen, are four sorts of homicide; and you are to consider whether all the evidence amounts to the first, second, third, or

cially in cases of life. Another rule from the | first is murder, which is killing with malice same author, 289, where he says: In some cases presumptive evidences go far to prove a person guilty, though there is no express proof of the fact to be committed by him; but then it must be very warily pressed, for it is better five guilty persons should escape unpunished than one in-fourth of these heads. The fact was the slaynocent person should die.

The next authority shall be from another judge of equal character, considering the age wherein he lived; that is, Chancellor Fortescue in Praise of the Laws of England, page 59. This is a very ancient writer on the English law. His words are:-"Indeed, one would rather, much rather, that twenty guilty persons escape the punishment of death, than one innocent person be condemned and suffer capitally." Lord Chief Justice Hale says:-"It is better five guilty persons escape, than one innocent person suffer." Lord Chancellor Fortescue, you see, carries the matter further, and says, Indeed, one had rather, much rather, that twenty guilty persons should escape, than one innocent person suffer capitally." Indeed, this rule is not peculiar to the English law; there never was a system of laws in the world in which this rule did not prevail. It prevailed in the ancient Roman law, and, which is more remarkable, it prevails in the modern Roman law. Even the judges in the Courts of Inquisition, who with racks, burnings, and scourges examine criminals, even there they preserve it as a maxim, that it is better the guilty should escape punishment than the innocent suffer. Satius esse nocentem absolvi quam insentem damnari. This is the temper we ought to set out with, and these the rules we are to be governed by. And I shall take it for granted, as a first principle, that the eight prisoners at the bar had better be all acquitted, though we should admit them all to be guilty, than that any one of them should, by your verdict, be found guilty, being innocent.

ing five unhappy persons that night. You are to consider whether it was justifiable, excusable, or felonious; and if felonious, whether it was murder or manslaughter. One of these four it must be. You need not divide your attention to any more particulars. I shall, however, before I come to the evidence, show you several authorities, which will assist you and me in contemplating the evidence before us.

As

I shall begin with justifiable homicide. If an officer, a sheriff, execute a man on the gallows, draws and quarters him, as in case of high treason, and cuts off his head, this is justifiable homicide. It is his duty. So also, gentlemen, the law has planted fences and barriers around every individual; it is a castle round every man's person, as well as his house. the love of God and our neighbor comprehends the whole duty of man, so self-love and social comprehend all the duties we owe to mankind; and the first branch is self-love, which is not only our indisputable right, but our clearest duty. By the laws of nature, this is interwoven in the heart of every individual. God Almighty, whose laws we cannot alter, has implanted it there, and we can annihilate ourselves as easily as root out this affection for ourselves. It is the first and strongest principle in our nature. Justice Blackstone calls it "the primary canon in the law of nature." That precept of our holy religion which commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, does not command us to love our neighbor better than ourselves, or so well. No Christian divine has given this interpretation. The precept enjoins that our benevolence to our fellow-men should be as real and sincere as our affections to ourselves, not that it should be as great in degree. A man is authorized, therefore, by common sense and the laws of England, as well as those of nature, to love himself better than his fellow-subject. If two persons are cast away at sea, and get on a plank (a case put by Sir Francis Bacon), and the plank is insufficient to hold them both, the one has a right to push the other off to save himself. The rules of the common law, therefore, which authorize a man to preserve his own life at the expense of another's, are not contradicted by any divine or moral law. We talk of liberty and property, but if we cut up the law of self-defence, we cut up the foundation of both; and if we give up this, the rest is of very little value, and therefore this principle must be strictly attended to; for whatsoever The law divides homicide into three the law pronounces in the case of these eight branches: the first is justifiable, the second ex-soldiers will be the law to other persons and cusable, and the third felonious. Felonious after ages. All the persons that have slain homicide is subdivided into two branches: the mankind in this country, from the beginning to

I shall now consider the several divisions of law, under which the evidence will arrange itself.

The action now before you is homicide; that is, the killing of one man by another. The law calls it homicide; but it is not criminal in all cases for one man to slay another. Had the prisoners been on the Plains of Abraham, and slain an hundred Frenchmen apiece, the English law would have considered it as a commendable action, virtuous and praiseworthy; so that every instance of killing a man is not a crime in the eye of the law. There are many other instances which I cannot enumerate-an officer that executes a person under sentence of death, &c. So that, gentlemen, every instance of one man's killing another is not a crime, much less a crime to be punished with death. But to descend to some more particulars.