He, Abigail, and the children lived there for a year, then moved to Cold Lane; still, later, they moved again to a larger house in Brattle Square in the center of the city.[33] In 1768, Adams successfully defended the merchant John Hancock, who was accused of violating British acts of trade in the Liberty Affair.[47] With the death of Jeremiah Gridley and the mental collapse of Otis, Adams became Boston's most prominent lawyer.[45]

Counsel for the British: Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre of 1770 by Alonzo Chappel (1878)
Britain's passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767 revived tensions, and an increase in mob violence led the British to dispatch more troops to the colonies.[48] On March 5, 1770, when a lone British sentry was accosted by a mob of men and boys, eight of his fellow soldiers reinforced him, and the crowd around them grew to several hundred. The soldiers were struck with snowballs, ice, and stones, and in the chaos the soldiers opened fire, killing five civilians, bringing about the infamous Boston Massacre. The accused soldiers were arrested on charges of murder. 