The Boston Massacre is an event that will continue to live in infamy for many years to come. The events surrounding the shot heard ‘round the world will forever be clouded in mystery, however; the examination of these events is critical to a larger understanding of the British and Colonial relationship. Unfortunately, like many historical events, there is no unified story on which historians agree. The documents integrated into this essay are a brief snapshot in time that can never represent a perfect history. For the purposes of this essay, I will focus on three major historical disagreements and attempt draw a conclusion on each aspect to hopefully provide an unbiased analysis of the Boston Massacre. What caused the civil unrest that led to the Boston Massacre? Why did British troops fire on the Colonial citizens? Were Captain Preston or his men responsible for the massacre? The most highly debated subject surrounding the massacre appears to be what started the conflict. Captain Preston points out that “the arrival of his Majesty’s …show more content…
The various stories from individuals are most likely extremely biased. Although some, such as Preston’s, are sworn statements they can still have bias. Captain Preston was in a fight for his life when fighting the accusations that he was responsible for the massacre. The Boston Gazette says that the fight began between young boys and soldiers and slowly tensions rose. This is consistent with most other stories in some way. They do highlight that both sides used excessive force in their initial argument and that the crowd did eventually form to oppose the soldiers. The Boston Gazette also corroborates other accounts with regards to soldiers being targets for snowballs (Boston Gazette). For this reasons, and its least likelihood to have a bias, the Boston Gazette offers the most thorough and plausible depiction of what caused the civil unrest prior to the
They shouted, “No taxation without Representation!” The Boston Massacre and The Boston Tea Party angered the colonists and the king. This caused trouble between the Patriots and the British which led to the American Revolution. To start with, The Boston Massacre was just
After the shooting, the people of Boston demanded that the soldiers be tried and executed for the shooting. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. This whole incident is outrageous. There isn't any need to result to violence when something goes wrong.
In the early 1760’s, the tension between the people in Boston and the British soldiers started to grow until in early 1770, when the two groups reached their breaking point. On March 5, 1770, a group of men started intimidating a British soldier; he soon called for assistance but eventually the crowd had grown to practically one hundred people. Captain Thomas Preston and seven other soldiers arrived, trying to calm the situation down, but to no avail. A soldier fired into the crowd followed by the other soldiers firing soon after, resulting in five people being killed. Captain Thomas Preston happened to be arrested and charged with murder.
In the picture called “Bloody Massacre,” it shows the events during the Boston Massacre by Paul Revere. In the picture, it shows British redcoats firing their guns at colonist in front of a Customs House in Boston. Colonist was outside the house protesting the British troops that lived in Boston to enforce the laws of Britain. As tension grew the redcoats fixed their bayonets and formed a line in front of the court house. The colonist responded by throwing snowballs at the redcoats, and then the redcoats began to open fire on the colonist killing 5 and wounding much more.
One day, this rivalry led to a disaster on the streets of Boston. It was March 5, 1770, and a group of particularly fiery Bostonians were taunting the soldiers. They were getting closer and closer to the troops, and without warning, the soldiers opened fire on the citizens. The troops ended up killing five Bostonians. Sam Adams, a Patriot, called the event “a horrid massacre.”
There were many times where the British King was viewed as a tyrant, and the Boston Massacre was one of them. The engraving done by Paul Revere's, “Bloody Massacre”, clearly portrays the tyrannical behaviors of the king. The picture of the Boston Massacre traveled around the colonies, leaving many colonists furious. The king leaving his men in Boston, and the quartering act eventually lead to the tension among the two to finally explode. The king’s need to have a complete control on the colonies, eventually lead to many angered, upset, and some dead.
Was the Boston Massacre Really a Massacre? One of the most common things talked about in the history of the U.S.A. is the Boston Massacre, but was this historical event commonly looked at as a massacre really a massacre. I believe that the Boston Massacre was not a massacre at all instead it was just the act of self defense of a few british soldiers that were being attacked by upset colonists. One of the most said things about the Boston Massacre is that the british soldiers fired into a crowd of innocent people, but there is many pieces of proof that says otherwise.
According to the article, Preston has tried to avoid unnessesary conflict between the colonist and his troops. He wanted everyone to leave in peace. However, one of Preston’s soldier did not obey his command and started to fire at the mobs. As the result, Preston is responsible for death in the Boston Massacre. Preston’s indecisive actions have indirectly led to the uprising of Colonies.
Although there are many reasons why the American Revolution started, a few of them had a larger consequence. First, the Boston Massacre had a major impact on the American Revolution. To continue, another instigator to the colonists seeking their independence was the Boston Tea Party. Lastly, The Battles of Lexington and Concord really pushed towards the American Revolution. Let us begin with how the Boston Massacre had a significant impact on the American Revolution.
The Boston Massacre was influenced by the British soldiers first shooting the colonists. Due to the commands of Captain Preston, the soldiers were forced to engage in fighting, said by William Wyatt. In his account, the British were ordered around by Captain Preston and were not in the usual formation for a battle. From other perspectives, like George Sanderlin and Andrew, they had heard the captain boom, “Fire! Be the consequences at will.”
Revolutionary War One cause of the Revolutionary War was the Boston Massacre. The four graves and nickname “Horrid Massacre” shows that the colonists were angry and enraged at the British troops for killing innocent people (Document 3). The colonists believed that British troops should have not fired because they were unarmed and just throwing snowballs, however, from the soldier 's ' point of view, they believed that the colonists are guilty because they were throwing clubs, ice and other sharp things. Also, the colonists were telling the soldiers to fire at them thus confusing them into thinking that their commander was saying “fire”. The angry colonists sought revenge and independence against the British.
Defending the Unpopular: John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trial The 1760s brought plenty of political tension between Britain and its colonies. Britain, suffering financially, had enforced tax acts onto the colonies to “repay them” for defending them in the Seven Years' War. The colonists, however, did not take this lightly, arguing that Britain had no right to tax them without representation in their government. On March 5, 1770, a fight broke out between Boston colonists and a squad from the 29th regiment when the crowd taunted and threw objects.
If the following events didn’t take place we wouldn’t have America. In my opinion the Boston Massacre was one of the very main causes to why the Road to Revolution took place. The reason I believe this was an important cause because it was, “ the first episode which resulted in the loss of life.” It is stated that, “Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob.”
The riot began when about 50 citizens attacked a British sentinel. A British officer called in additional soldiers, and they too were attacked, so the soldiers fired into the mob, killing 5. The Boston Tea Party began with the Tea Act that past in Boston. The law prevented the colonists from buying tea from other tea shops and that tea was more expensive than the others.
The Boston Massacre is an event most Americans and British students learn about over the course of their education. In America, we learn that British soldiers fired upon innocent civilians, although this may not have been the case. British historians have referred to the Boston Massacre as the "Incident on King Street". After looking over the "Captain Thomas Preston 's Account of the Boston Massacre", as well as "Boston Massacre Trial Depositions" I believe that American historians should refer to the "Boston Massacre" as the "Incident on King Street". The definition of a massacre refers to an unnecessary and random killing of a large number of individuals.