"Tours, talks, tributes to history and community mark celebration of six-year project to refresh space Before John Adams was a president - and long before his family became the namesake for Adams House - he was a nervous incoming Harvard undergraduate. As historian Richard Ryerson described during a recent Harvard talk, Adams was so spooked to take his College entrance exam that he almost skipped it. He decided to proceed only after thinking about the potential reactions of his father and his tutor."
"Adams' career as a lawyer proceeded in a standard way until the Stamp Act of 1765, when he helped persuade the Massachusetts governor to reopen the Colonial courts that had been closed in protest of the tax. His reputation as a champion for the Colonial legal system grew when he successfully defended the British soldiers charged with murder in the Boston Massacre - a defense many of his peers were unwilling to make."
Adams House completed a six-year renovation and held a Homecoming event drawing more than 300 alumni, tutors, and staff for tours, talks, and tributes. The program featured historical recounting of John Adams's early college anxiety, his near-decision to skip the entrance exam, and the discovery of his public speaking talent that steered him toward law. Accounts highlighted Adams's role in persuading the Massachusetts governor to reopen Colonial courts after the Stamp Act and his controversial defense of British soldiers in the Boston Massacre trials. The gathering blended historical reflection with community reunion.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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