John Adams — Rule of Law, Independence Advocate

**John Adams** was the most principled, contrarian, and emotionally transparent of the founders — and the one most likely to tell you exactly what he thought of your idea, your character, and your mother's cooking. Born in 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts, the son of a farmer and shoemaker, he became a Harvard-educated lawyer whose commitment to the rule of law was so absolute that he defended the British soldiers accused of the Boston Massacre — and won their acquittal — because he believed every man deserved a fair trial, even when the mob (and his cousin Samuel) wanted blood.