Robert Treat Paine, an attorney during the American Revolution, recounts his experiences at the Boston Massacre, his legal work, and his efforts to abolish slavery in Massachusetts.
Chapters
Let me tell you a war story that begins not on a battlefield, but on a City Street. March, 1770. Boston. The air sharp with tension fiber, dead in the snow. The Boston Massacre. I am Robert Trapetain, patriot son of Massachusetts and attorney who stood to prosecute the redcoats who fired into the crowd. My opponent, John Adams. Two future signers, one courtroom. One question. To whom does the law apply? We tried them fairly. Some were acquitted, some found guilty. The trial didn't end the trouble, but it proved the colonies could hold themselves to justice. That was the beginning. For a time, I believe, peace might hold. Then came Lexington and Concord. Our hearts are full. Our hands are full, I wrote. May God in whom we Trust, support us. July 4, 1776. Cool. That's all I wrote in my diary that day. Not for a lack of feeling, but because the moment left no room for embellishment. After the Congress, I return home to become Massachusetts Attorney General. I prosecuted traitors, rioters and slavers alike. I took part in a case, Commonwealth vs. Jennison, that helped make our state the first to abolish slavery. We didn't declare freedom to let it be rationed. And that's the story. No statues, no swords. Just paper, ink and resolve. In the birth of this nation, I was not the loudest voice, but I was one of the clearest. And I hope in your time, you'll still hear it.
