Enlightenment

John Adams

1735–1826

Lawyer, then second president

He defended the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre and told the jury that facts are stubborn things. He died on the same day as Jefferson, and the last reported words got the news wrong in a way that still feels exact.

In the canon

  1. Facts are stubborn things.Argument in defense of the British soldiers
  2. Thomas Jefferson survives.Reported last words

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