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Facts are stubborn things.

John Adams, Boston Massacre trial, 1770

Philosophy

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John Adams, later the second President of the United States, said this in December 1770 while defending British soldiers tried for the Boston Massacre, in which troops had fired into a crowd and killed five people. Taking the case was deeply unpopular, but Adams told the jury to follow the evidence, not anger. Six soldiers were acquitted and two convicted of manslaughter. The phrase itself was older: it appears, for example, in Tobias Smollett's 1749 English translation of the novel Gil Blas.

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John Adams, Boston Katliamı davası, 1770

Sonradan ABD'nin ikinci başkanı olacak John Adams bu sözü Aralık 1770'te, Boston Katliamı davasında söyledi. Askerler Boston'da bir kalabalığa ateş açmış, beş kişi hayatını kaybetmişti; Adams da yargılanan İngiliz askerlerinin avukatıydı. Bu davayı üstlenmesi Boston'da hiç hoş karşılanmadı, ama o jüriden öfkeye değil kanıtlara bakmasını istedi. Askerlerden altısı beraat etti, ikisi taksirle adam öldürmekten hüküm giydi. Sözün kendisi daha eskidir: örneğin Tobias Smollett'in 1749'da yayımlanan Gil Blas romanı çevirisinde de geçer.

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