Boston Massacre Shootings

After analyzing the video about the Boston Massacre, what it should be called depends all on which side you took. Patriots would have took this as a massacre because, not only would it blame the British, but their people were also considered "slaughtered". Thus, to the Patriots, this would be considered a massacre. However, for the Loyalists and British, this would be considered a riot. A crowd of colonists threw snowballs, stones, oyster shells, and even wood at British soldiers. This was basically a disturbance of peace, or a riot. The soldiers had the right of defending themselves, so I do understand the reasons for shooting, but killing wasn't necessary. In the end however, in my opinion, without being biased to any sides, the Boston Massacre should be considered a riot.

After the French and Indian War, tension was increasing in the English Colonies due to over taxation laws. In March of 1770, hatred between the colonists and the British soldiers erupted into fighting in an event known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was a significant event in the American Independence movement. The source of the conflict with the British troops and the Bostonians was the Townshend Act in 1767, three years prior to the massacre. The primary sources in this collection of documents are of different accounts of the massacre: a pamphlet of the testimony of William Wyatt, an article from the Boston Gazette and Country Journal, a sketch by Paul Revere, an account of Captain Thomas Preston, and a court case from John Adams. These documents expose the turmoil of that day from different perspectives of Bostonians and British soldiers. They also show how some colonial leaders used this event to advance the patriot cause. The account of Captain Thomas Preston said that he tried to

There are three ways that the colonist protested against the British which are the Boston Massacre, The Stamp Act and the Boston Tea Party. One of the ways the colonist protested against the British is the Boston Massacre. They were mad that the soldiers because they took their jobs. The colonist were also mad at the British for stealing their goods from shops. They were also mad about the taxes. The colonists protested by a mob moving toward the customhouse where the British taxes were collected. The protesters picked up sticks, stones, and clubs. The crowd threw sticks and stones at the soldiers. They knocked down a British soldier. The British redcoats got mad and shot and killed 5 colonists which is why it was called a massacre.

The Boston Massacre took place on March 5th, 1770. This historic event was caused because of an ongoing conflict between the British soldiers and the people of Boston. According to George Hewes account, “Crowds of artisans and laborers joined the elite in protesting British policies, although their differing points of view revealed the divisions within colonial society.” People were upset over the British passing the Towsend Act, which was a surplus of unpopular taxes. The people of Boston also resented the British troops, who were also looking for jobs.

On March 5 1770, a union of colonists gathered at the Customs House where they protested and harassed soldiers standing outside. These colonists were representing The Sons of Liberty, a secret organization aiming to rebel against the British Parliament. There was an abundance of tension between the colonists and Great Britain after new taxes were passed and British troops arrived in Massachusetts to enforce them. After many hours of chanting and protesting a shot was fired; the atrocious event left five men dead. The question society still ponders over 200 years later is what really happened and whose fault was it? The Boston Massacre initiated because of miscommunication; it was not a massacre but a mutual riot.

There were multiple things that happened before the Boston Massacre but the major one was the taxing of tons of products like lead, paper, and sugar. The colonists strongly disliked the taxes Great Britain was placing on them and were outraged. They thought that it was against there rights and unfair. Because of the taxing, they started protesting British goods. One event that happened just before the massacre was the Townshend Acts; this was when Britain placed a tax on things like glass and paint. From this source it says, “Just like when Britain imposed the Stamp Act, the colonists began to protest and the British brought in soldiers to keep order”(ducksters.com). Besides protesting, things then started getting violent. To try and keep stuff in order, Great Britain decided to send some of their soldiers to the colonies. All of the different taxes Britain placed on different things sparked a rebellion within the colonies. Finally, the colonies realized that they wanted to be free.

Beginning on March 5th of 1770, several men grouped around a sort of British redcoats and began to curse at them while throwing snowballs at their frames. This angered the soldiers, and even scared them a little bit as well. In reaction they fired their weapons and watched the patriots fall to the ground. In the description of Paul Revere’s engraving, The Bloody Massacre in King Street states, “When the shooting ended, several people were dead and more were wounded.” This engraving had been sent throughout the colonies, therefore raising awareness of the tragedy that had happened just weeks before. In particular, it made the redcoats look guilty and the colonists to be innocent. This was probably because in the engraving, the patriots were on the ground, injured and defenseless while the soldiers held their guns high, in perfect bodily conditions. Thus giving it its name, the “Boston Massacre.” This gave the colonists the idea that the British were cruel and unjust, which made them want to fight back even

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.

Parliament responded to the actions of the Sons of Liberty by passing the Coercive Acts, which were commonly referred to as the Intolerable Acts by the colonists. The British passed many laws and took very heavy control of Boston. They closed the Boston Harbor until the colonists could pay for the tea they had destroyed, they banned town meetings for the those who spoke against the crown, and perhaps the most “intolerable” new law was the passing of a new Quartering Act (Document 5). At this point the colonists had stopped talking about whether or not the British reign was fair or not. The British had almost taken over the colonies and anger of the patriots was at an all time high. Sooner or later something had to

The Boston Massacre took place after British soldiers were antagonized and became fed up. The soldiers opened fire and in the end eleven men were hit and five of them died. This stoked the flames of fury in the British colonies. One colonist said, “The fatal fifth of March, 1770, can never be forgotten. The horrors of that fateful night are but too deeply impressed on our hearts” (Document 6-2). People could not accept this terrible treatment from Britain any longer. Colonists took the opportunity to protest when news of the Tea Tax spread throughout the colonies. It was seen as “an insidious plot to trick Americans into buying the duties tea” (Roark 142). On the last day to pay the duties for British tea, around 150 men dressed as indigenous people dumped every last ounce of tea into the Boston Harbor. It was a political demonstration that showed the British that their taxes would not be tolerated. The protestors “rowed them [the boats] into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles, so thoroughly drenched it, as to render its entire destruction inevitable…” (Document 6-3). The goal to make a point was successful, but it came with intense repercussion, which the colonists also rebelled against. In summary, tensions between the British and their colonists were caused by Britain’s unsavory actions, primarily

The massacre happened in 1770, in the middle of Boston. A mob of colonists attacked some British soldiers and the soldiers shot and killed five colonists all together. This sparked a lot of fury in the colonies. This was a perfect example of the British forces abusing their authority. Samuel Adams, a leading patriot, in The Rights of the Colonists in 1772 believed that, “The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but to have the law of nature for his rule.”

Millions of people die every day, however only a handful unexpectedly sacrifice. The wind whispered a brisk temperature of forty-eight degrees fahrenheit around nine in the morning while the daylight attempted to break through the clouds. Today is April 15, 2013; today is the 117th Boston Marathon. Taken place on the famous, Boylston Street in Boston, where more than 24,000 runners participated in this event, eagerly ready to perform in front of their friends, their family, the world, however, not everyone had a chance to finish. Approximately two hours after the winner crossed the finish line, terror commenced. The first bomb detonated outside Marathon Sports at 2:49 pm, followed by a second bomb, one block away, approximately 13 seconds after. Within these explosions, chaos erupted with people running away from the commotion, human beings started to trample on each other only to survive another day. Shrapnel, nails, and glass shattered in all directions until finding their home in a child’s limbs. Death and destruction suddenly became the

In the 1760s and the 1770s, tension was building between the American colonies and Great Britain due to the struggle for American independence and Britain’s reluctance to grant it to them. Many events led up to the colonists declaring their independence from Great Britain. The British put numerous taxes on the colonies, which they perceived to be unfair, but Britain found them necessary to raise money for the crown. Colonists protested these acts in many ways, like the Son's of Liberty who were responsible for The Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, where British soldiers in Boston shot at an angry mob and killed five colonists, and the battles between the British and American soldiers at Lexington and Concord before the Americans declared independence. However, one event contributed to American Independence more than any of the others and can be considered one of the most influential factors in America’s independence from Great Britain.

By researching the Boston bombings that took place on 15 April 2013, has led me to ask the question ‘why does it seem that more value is placed on a life in the US, than a life in a country where war and conflict occurs on a daily basis?’

There are three major things that led to the Boston Massacre: First was the growing mistrust among the British soldiers and Americans. There were a number of other incidents were the British clashed with the patriots and their supporters. Individual soldiers were beaten on street corners and soldiers abused unarmed civilians. In all the Americans in Boston made it clear that the British soldiers were unwanted. The second reason is somewhat odd. The removal of two out of four regiments meant there were to inadequate amounts of soldiers to keep the peace. There were enough on the other hand to remind the patriots of the great British military. The last reason would be the revolt of the Townshend Acts. The patriots and Americans did not agree and strife with the British soldiers over it. The Act built tension between the two.