Boston Massacre Research Paper

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 when a mob of civilians confronted the British in Boston after nearly two years of tension between the colonists and the British soldiers in Boston. In the fall of 1768, many British soldiers were stationed in Boston to maintain order, and enforce taxes on account of the colonists protesting the Townshend Acts with a fiery passion. The Townshend Acts were imposed by Parliament and Prime Minister Charles Townsend in 1767 to continue to raise funds to pay off Britain's enormous debt. The Townsend Acts suspended New York assemblies, forced the colonists to board British soldiers, placed duties on imported goods, such as glass, paint, paper, lead, tea, etc., and allowed customs officials to enter any ship or house they deem suspicious of

The British held their position with orders not to fire, however, the rioters started to throw clubs and snowballs. Private Hugh Montgomery fired the first shot, and after all the smoke cleared, five civilians were dead-- Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr. Nine British soldiers involved with the Massacre were charged with manslaughter, including Captain Thomas Preston, who was the commanding officer at the time of the incident. He stated that the soldiers acted in self-defense, and that the order to fire was simply an accident due to the rioters taunting the British by yelling, “Fire.” John Adams, a public supporter of the Patriot cause and cousin to the leader of the Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams, defended Preston and the other men due to his strong belief that people should abide by the rule of law, rather than becoming violent. In the end, Preston and six other men were acquitted of charges, with two men found guilty of manslaughter, but they only received a branding on the hand, with the alternative being a prison