Boston Massacre Research Paper

What follow are the events and tensions leading up to the Boston Massacre on March 5th, 1770. The soldiers and the colonists were quarreling and there were high tensions amongst them. In the days leading up to the massacre the soldiers may have plotted against the colonists of New England. There was a fight that took place at the ropemakers, which is considered to be one of the most influential encounters between the soldiers and the New Englanders. There are several different accounts of how this conflict took place. According to Captain Preston, “[o]n the [2nd] instant two of the 29th going through one Gray's ropewalk, the rope-makers insultingly asked them if they would empty a vault. This unfortunately had the desired effect by provoking

Several things happened leading up to the massacre itself, which are important to note. The colonists were becoming increasingly frustrated with Britain, which led to political unrest. To counteract this unrest, British troops were sent to Boston, where they arrived on October 1, 1968. Originally, there wasn’t an open resistance to the presence of the troops. Over time, things would change, which can be derived from the events of March 5, 1770. There were two sides: the mob of colonists and the the British soldiers. The colonists ended up attacking a British sentinel, leaving the British captain to call in more soldiers, who were also attacked. Shots were fired by the British, killing a total of 5 and wounding 6

The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores'; (Mahin 1). A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.     

The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Massacre was a small riot between the colonists and British soldiers. Evidence supports that the colonists were to blame for the events that led to the Boston Massacre, which resulted in five colonial deaths.

Once the Redcoats were set up to the best of their ability, the militiamen continued to move forward. As the militiamen closed in the British fired the first volley, Private Abner Hosmer and Captain Isaac Davis were at the head of the march and were killed instantly. That volley was the start of the Revolutionary War and is now known as the “Shot Heard around the World”. The militiamen

The Boston Massacre was said to be the event that brought the colonies closer to unite against the British Government and these conflicts between the colonists and the British army were rising because of how the British Government was trying to gain more control over the American colonies while also trying to raise the American taxes. The Massacre was used to encourage colonists to fight harder for their freedom and independence but also was known as a zero hour in the American Revolution. This point had allowed groups like the Groups like the Sons of Liberty to use it to show the corruption of British rule.

Many events in history have been called “massacres”. They often resulted in hundreds of deaths, such as the slaughter of natives that came with the colonization of the Americas. Yet one of the most famous and significant massacres in American history resulted in only a handful of deaths. On May fifth, 1775, a mob of colonists attacked a patrol of nine British soldiers, who then fired upon the mob. Five colonists were killed, and six others injured (“Boston Massacre”). Preserved in an engraving by Paul Revere, these deaths became a rallying cry of rebellion for the American colonists. The event came to be known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was a turning point in the colonists’ rebellion against Britain. This crucial event

With anger and hatred growing in the colonists, no one expected the following event to occur, the Boston Massacre. In early colonial times, people wanted freedom and they fought for it hard. They put everything on the line, even their lives. When the colonists thought they didn't get what they deserved, they took to the streets to protest, but this time it ended up in a bloody occurrence. Most people believe that the event started with British soldiers firing into the mob, which ended up wounding many and killing five people. This raised anger and eventually led to a famous trial where John Adams took a brave patriotic stance; he defended the soldiers who took 5 of the colonist's lives. Below is a timeline event of what happened during these times, which illustrates the many reasons why the colonies were upset with England.

In 1772 the colonies had experienced a relative uneventful two years since the Boston Massacre. Adams was worried that his vision of independence was losing momentum. In 1772 The HMS Gaspee ran aground in shallow waters near the city of Warwick, Rhode Island. While the ship was stuck, a small group of men boarded, looted and torched the ship. The British government had formed an investigatory commission to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. It was also decided if found the violators would be charged in an English court. It is unknown if Adams had any role in the Gaspee Affair, but he certainly took part in the alarm that was cause by it. Colonial governments were all alarmed at the prospect of American's being sent to England

The Boston massacre was a street fight, that killed five colonists in front of the old state house.””British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend

During the years of 1769 to 1775, Boston was the center of the Revolution. Fights between the Bostonians and the British redcoats broke out. March 5th 1770 was the day of the Boston Massacre. A crowd surrounded the British troops and taunted them, throwing brickbats at them. Five people died and six were wounded all because there was no order in Boston at the time. Captain Preston and six soldiers were tried for murder, two of the soldiers were found guilty and the rest were let go.

While reading chapter six in our textbook, I became most interested in the event of the Boston Massacre. I believe the reason for this was because it is such a large event in history that is spoke about all of the time and I remember hearing about it in school, but I could not remember any of the details. So, the Boston Massacre started due to rising tensions and temperaments between colonists and British soldiers. "On October 1, 1768, the first of 4,000 British soldiers arrived to police the city of Boston" in order to maintain order and prevent uproars from the Townshend Act (Page 207). These soldiers were not only watching colonists every move but also working in Boston, which prevented colonists from attaining work.

As mentioned above the war started at the Battle of Concord and Lexington. What had happened is the British heard about how colonist had a stockpile of weapons and gunpowder at these towns, so they went to go secure them, because it was at the time illegal to own firearms. The colonist were afraid they were going to be imprisoned or killed by the British, which they were rightfully so to think and took up arms against the British and began firing at the British troops. These shots would be dubbed, “the shot heard around the world,” because this was a signal of a British colony rebelling against the Crown.

The Boston Massacre was and is still a debatable Massacre. The event occurred on March 5, 1776. It involved the rope workers of the colonial Boston and two British regiments, the twenty-ninth and the fourteenth regiments. Eleven people were shot in the incident; five people were killed and the other six were merely wounded. The soldiers and the captain, Thomas Preston, were all put on trial. All were acquitted of charges of murder, however the two soldiers who fired first, Private Mathew Killroy, and Private William Montgomery, the two soldiers were guilty of manslaughter. The causes were numerous for this event. There had been a nation wide long-term dislike towards the British, and a growing hatred towards them by the people of Boston.

The Boston Massacre is considered by many historians to be the first battle of the Revolutionary War. The fatal incident happened on March 5 of 1770. The massacre resulted in the death of five colonists. British troops in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were there to stop demonstrations against the Townshend Acts and keep order, but instead they provoked outrage. The British soldiers and citizens brawled in streets and fought in bars. “The citizens viewed the British soldiers as potential oppressors, competitors for jobs, and a treat to social mores”. A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.