Jennifer’s Reviews > John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial > Status Update

Now, it is the party with the burden of proof that gets the last word.

"Neither he [John Adams] nor Abigail ever owned a slave..." Noted.

"...in England, defendants were not afforded the presumption of innocence; rather it was believed that an innocent man should be able to prove it." But starting in 1657, things were different in Massachusetts, when the general court had decreed that the presumption of innocence applied.

"The concept of a building dedicated solely to the law, a courthouse, was growing in America; in most towns and villages, trials and hearings were still held in town houses and taverns."

"The Pilgrims brought the jury system to the New World with them." It was enshrined in a law passed in 1623.

Turns out Jonathan Sewall and Samuel Sewall were distantly related.

A pet peeve is repeatedly appearing: references to "the Magna Carta." No "the" should precede it. If its name is completely translated, then "the Great Charter" is correct, but not if the Latin name is used.

"The colonial nonimportation strategy [against the Townsend Acts] had proved successful; collections had been reduced by more than £700,000 while the cost of maintaining a military presence in Massachusetts to enforce the act had risen. The act had...[proved] devastating to British manufacturers and merchants."

I wonder if Jonathan Sewall was any relation to Samuel Sewall, who was a judge involved in tbe Salem witch trials.

It wasn't just the Stamp Act that sent Massachusetts into a recession. More significant was the Currency Act, which together with Britsh financial policy resulted in a severe currency shortage
That, and the entry of "buck" into American slang for money - many colonists began using buckskins as currency when British coin became unavailable.