Episode 5 — The Boston Massacre Trial (Oct–Dec 1770)

Patriot lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincy Jr. defend the British soldiers charged with killing five colonists in the March 1770 Massacre. Adams builds a rigorous self-defense case from a threatening mob. Captain Preston is acquitted; six of eight soldiers are acquitted and two are convicted of manslaughter (branded and released). Adams later calls it one of the proudest acts of his life.