Boston Massacre Research Paper

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The Boston Massacre was one of the most important events that have ever taken place in Colonial America. It sparked the start of the Revolutionary War, which caused many of those loyal to Britain to rally with those who wanted freedom and it was considered a turning point for many colonists, to fight the British. Life back then was hard. The colonists had tried to rebel and as a result; the British Parliament passed many acts that negatively affected the colonist’s everyday lives. Some of these acts were the Townshend Acts. They were passed as a means of generating income for colonial administration. The Townshend acts placed taxes on paper, lead, paint, and tea imported into the colonies. A boycott engineered by the colonists angered the …show more content…

Citizens did everything they could to notify people and even rang church bells in an attempt to bring more people out. Many residents gathered around Private White to rally with young Garrick against his actions. The residents began throwing objects and challenging Private White to fire his weapon at them. The crowds protest alerted the nearby barracks and Captain Thomas Preston, the Officer in Charge. Captain Preston sent a non-commissioned officer and six privates of the 29th Regiment of Foot to help Private White. The soldiers brought their weapons and fixed bayonets. The soldiers Captain Preston sent were Corporal William Wemms, Hugh Montgomery, John Carroll, William McCauley, William Warren, and Matthew Kilroy and pushed their way through the crowd. Henry Knox, again trying to calm the rising tensions, warned Captain Preston to command his troops and told him that if the Soldiers fired their weapons, he would ultimately be held responsible. When the residents charged the Customs house stairs, the soldiers loaded their muskets and faced the very large crowd. Captain Preston ordered the crowd, of three or four hundred, to leave the area but the crowd did not disburse. The large crowd even threw snowballs and spat at them. He ordered his troops not to fire on the crowd but with all the commotion the soldiers misheard the Captain’s orders and the soldiers opened fire on the crowd. The shots killed three men and another two who would circum to their injuries later.(3,whole

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