The white house, 218 to be inhabited

November 1, 1800, the United States President John Adams becomes the first president to come to live in the White House.

In a letter addressed to his wife, he writes: "Before concluding my letter, I pray to heaven the greatest blessing for this house and for all those who inhabit it in the future. May only honest and wise men rule under this roof. "

AGAINST SLAVERY

An important fact is that Adams never owned slaves and refused in principle to employ slave labor. Abigail Adams, his wife opposed slavery and employed free blacks instead of his father's domestic slaves. John Adams ruled in 1777 against a bill to emancipate slaves in Massachusetts, saying that the issue was too controversial, so the legislation should "sleep for a while." He was also against the use of black soldiers in the Revolution, due to the opposition of the Southerners. Adams in general, tried to keep the issue out of national politics, due to the expected response from the south. Although it is difficult to specify the exact date when slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, a common view is that it was abolished no later than 1780, when it was prohibited by the application of the Bill of Rights that John Adams wrote in the Constitution of Massachusetts.

ATTORNEY OF LA MASACRE DE BOSTON

In 1770, a street confrontation resulted in British soldiers killing five civilians in what became known as the Boston Massacre. The soldiers involved were arrested on criminal charges and had trouble finding a lawyer. Therefore, they asked Adams to take charge of his defense. Although he feared that this might damage his reputation, he agreed to it. Six of the soldiers were acquitted. Two who had fired directly into the crowd were charged with murder, but were only convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

As for the payment of Adams, Chinard alleges that one of the soldiers, Captain Thomas Preston, gave Adams a symbolic "unique guinea," as a down payment on fees. However, David McCullough states in his biography of Adams that he received nothing but eighteen guineas. Adams confirms that Preston paid him ten initial guineas and a subsequent payment of eight, which was "all the pecuniary reward for fourteen or fifteen days of work, in the most exhausting and fatiguing cause I have ever tried."

Despite his doubts, Adams was elected to the General Court of Massachusetts in June 1770, while he was still in preparation for the trial.