What is the true definition of a massacre? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is “the act or an instance of killing a number of helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty” (Massacre). This speaks to words like slaughter and mass murder, however it is not always used in the most appropriate way. One of the most well-known events in history uses this word misleadingly in its title. Almost everyone knows about the Boston Massacre; the deaths of five “new world” colonists at the hands of British soldiers. However, to what extent is the truth known? Many people to this day, do not know what actually happened that evening of March 5th, 1770. The factual details are not as important to the event Paul Revere created an engraved photo of what he saw as the “Boston Massacre”. The photo showed soldiers in a straight line, all firing straight at a crowd of colonists (Paul…100). The engraving also depicts Captain Thomas Preston standing behind his men, ordering them to fire (Paul…100). There is no evidence he was present at the time of the massacre, so this photo is not an exact depiction of what happened. However, it encompassed how the colonists felt at the time. They saw the photo and gained more and more hatred for England and the way they were being treated, which is exactly what Paul Revere and other patriots wanted to happen. This is the fuel that was used to try and get the troops removed from Boston. All the events leading up to, and including the Boston massacre, were continually driving a wedge further and further between England and its American Colonies, drawing closer and closer to a revolution. This is exactly what colonists wanted, and they worked their way toward it, slowly fighting and turning against the British. Although they were uniting themselves through hatred and war, the colonists came together and over the years were fighting toward the same goal. The Boston Massacre was possibly one of the biggest motivating factors in the start of the revolutionary war. Therefore, this event should be seen as more of propaganda, rather than a true
The events of March 5, 1770 should and have been remembered as momentous and predictable. Perhaps not the night or city specifically, but the state of affairs in Boston, if not throughout The English Colonies, had declined to the point that British troops found themselves frequently assaulted with stones, dirt, and human feces. The opinions and sentiments of either side were certainly not clandestine. Even though two spectators express clear culpability for the opposing side, they do so only in alteration of detail. The particulars of the event unfold the same nonetheless. The happening at the Custom House off King Street was a catastrophic inevitability. Documents from the Boston Massacre trial, which aid us in observing from totally different perceptions. The depositions of witnesses of the event prove to be useful; an English officer Captain Preston and a colonial Robert Goddard give relatively dissimilar details. In spite of these differences, they still both describe the same state of affairs.
I read a book about the Boston Massacre the was originally named the bloody massacre. The amount of killed persons is generally accepted to be 5 people. The Fifth of March is a 1993 novel about the Boston Massacre (of March 5, 1770) by historian and author Ann Rinaldi, who was also the author of many other historical fiction novels such as Girl in Blue and A Break with Charity. This book is about a young indentured servant girl named Rachel Marsh who finds herself changing as she meets many people, including young Matthew Kilroy, a British private in the 29th regiment.
During this entire period the British were starting to make attempts to intimidate the colonists in hopes to end the rebellions. It seemed that the more and more England tried to scare the people, the angrier they got. The tactics obviously didn't work, but instead pushed the colonists even further into standing up against Britain. The British soldiers in America were told not to entice violence, and especially not to kill anybody.
What started out as a simple snowball fight was turned into a huge catastrophic dilemma. A few colonists started to throw snowballs at a group of Patriots. However, as more and more people joined in on the bullying, things like sticks, rocks, and bricks were being lunged at them. The Patriots then fired at the group, killing some. The press exaggerated this and turned it into a “massacre” so people would turn on the Patriots even more when in reality, they were just protecting themselves.
The Boston Massacre occurred in the evening of March 5, 1770. A crowd of people began harassing the soldiers. One event lead to another and the crowd began hurling snowballs and rocks. One of the snowballs stuck a soldier and he fired his weapon causing a series of shots toward the crowd. “...the frightened soldiers fired into the crowd.” (Doc 3). As a result of this incident, three people were killed on the scene and two were mortally wounded. The soldiers were also ordered not to fire. The colonists did not think that they should have been shot at or killed, this infuriated them. This event was said to have started the American Revolution. This leads to the British seizing power over the
That day would happen on March 5th 1770. On this evening, a British guard was patrolling a custom house, some colonists began taunting the soldier and soon a crowd of angry colonists arrived. The British officer decided it would be necessary to call in more troops. Later, around eight soldiers arrived to support the guard, by this time the mob grew to about three hundred people. A colonist kicked one of the soldiers down, and the soldier fired upon the crowd. After a short pause, the other British troop fired on the colonists. Thanks to the press and art of Paul Revere, this event is now known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Tea Party, one of the most famous events of per-revolution America. The British imposed a tax on all tea and this united the colonists in an agreement against the tax. The Sons of Liberty once again mobbed up and threatened the shop owners to not support the tax. Throughout the colonies, agents of the Tea Act were forced to resign. When this didn't seem to be enough, the Sons of Liberty devised a plan at the liberty tree in Boston. On the night of December 16th a group of men dressed as Mohawk Indians, boarded four British ships carrying tea and dumped it all into the harbor. This tea never landed and therefore this tea was never
On March 5, 1770 a fight broke out in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts between a patriot mob and British soldiers. Citizens attacked a squad of soldiers by throwing snowballs, stones and sticks. British Army soldiers in turn killed five civilians and injured six others. The presence of British troops had been stationed in Boston, the capital of Province of Massachusetts Bay since 17681. The British existence was increasingly unwelcome. The British troops were sent to Boston in order to protect and support the crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation.
The Boston Massacre was a fundamental event at the beginning of the American Revolution. The massacre became part of anti-British propaganda for Boston activists and fed American fears of the English military in both the North and South. The Boston Massacre was the first “battle” in the Revolutionary War. Although it wasn’t until five years after the Boston Massacre that the Revolutionary War officially began, the Boston Massacre was a forecast of the violent storm to come.
Imagine a powerful organization from a different place coming into your town taking your jobs, destroying your possessions and telling you what you can and can't do. This is what the British were doing to the colonists during the time of the Boston massacre. The Boston Massacre was a conflict that happened on March 5th 1770. It happened near the courthouse in front of the church on a street called King Street. British soldiers had shot at a group of colonists killing 5 of them. Some think it was the British to blame for this tragedy but others think it was the colonists fault for this event.
...n, was in sight and dividing themselves into a battlefield formation as they came upon Lexington Green. What happened next is still debated. A shot was fired, and neither side would claim responsibility for this first act of war. But when it was over, two massive British volleys had been fired, answered by only one, weak volley of American musket fire and eight militiamen were dead and ten wounded, including Captain Parker. But this was only the start of the Revolutionary War. In the years to come, many Americans and British soldiers would die in their battle to stand up for a country and a future that they believed in. As for Paul Revere, his role in calling the patriots, the minutemen, the militia of the countryside together and up in arms will remain as imperative to the study of American history as any battle or shot that took place in the Revolution of America.
The Boston Massacre came about because the British troops came into town and tried to enforce the Townshend Act, which placed a tax on tea, paper, glass and some other products from England (History.com). The people of Boston hated this idea and rapidly started to rebel. At this point people believed that the British were the first to start the confrontation, but they were wrong. The colonists started the riot. The colonists started throwing things at the soldiers, such as snowballs, sticks and rocks (Rebecca Beatrice Brooks).
I will be discussing the differences between Captain Thomas Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre (1770) and Paul Revere, Image of The Bloody Massacre (1770). I will explain both men’s story beginning with Captain Thomas Preston vision of the event, then explain Paul Revere version of the event. I will then include my opinion on which account I believe is most accurate and explain why.
Before the Boston Massacre even occurred, tensions were high in the city of Boston between the Bostonians and the British. At this time people were just getting over the Stamp Act and were now angered by the new taxes also known as the Townshend Duties. This new tax caused Bostonians to become more aggressive causing the British to send more soldiers to impose the laws of Parliament and to restore order among the people. The arrival of more soldiers only caused more of an uproar between the people of Boston and the red coats. Bostonians went out of their way to harass British soldiers whenever they got the chance, but on March 5, 1770 both sides acted unacceptably resulting in the Boston Massacre (84-85).
The Boston Massacre was one the most controversial massacre in American history that teased the coming of the American Revolution. People were taunting a British soldier who was standing “in front of the Boston Custom House” who got very frustrated to the point where he hit somebody. The soldier got overwhelmed by people who came after he hit one of them, called help from his fellow soldiers. When Captain Preston and his soldiers arrived at the scene, people were coming from everywhere, some were trying to fight them and some were just there to watch. Then, one of the soldier shot at the people and his fellow soldiers started shooting after, which killed five people. This what ended it up being called the Boston Massacre. Some might say that the murderer were the soldiers who shot the people, but the real murderer is
On March 5, 1770, five colonists lost their lives in what American history would deem their fight for liberty; however, several British soldiers were placed on trial for murder when they were only fighting for their lives against an anger mob. John Adams, who would become our second president, defended these soldiers in an attempted to prove their innocents. The trial was held on American soil and the outcome did not fare well for the British soldiers. Adams was able to keep them from receiving the death penalty, however both soldiers were “branded” for life as murders. Boston was a cauldro...