British Soldiers Were Guilty At The Boston Massacre

On the evening of March 5, 1770, with a foot of snow on the ground, groups of Bostonians gathered around the Custom House on King Street. Some had buckets of water, after responding to a fire alarm. Others had clubs to defend themselves or perhaps to threaten the despised “lobsterbacks.” Private Hugh White was, in fact, being threatened by several wigmakers’ apprentices (Aron 24). When Captain Thomas Preston heard of Private White’s situation, he came with seven other soldiers to help. Words escalated into snowballs and stones, and the soldiers began to fight back with the butts of their guns. The crowd of Bostonians was growing and now numbered about 100 (24). Then, a huge chunk of ice came flying in from the mob and knocked

The American Colonists felt the need to declare independence from Britain due to many events. Britain did not always enforce laws or regulations on the colonies. However, they began imposing unfair taxes on the colonists which sparked anger. This is what brought out the Stamp Act in 1765. The colonists were more angry when the British military fired at a crowd of colonists killing 5 and injuring 6, known as the Boston Massacre.

| To record what he heard and saw during the trial and how he defended for the British soldiers.

Similar to the way that the colonial and British perspectives greatly varied for the Boston Massacre, their opinions are once again vastly different for the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this event as well, both parties attempt to place the blame on the other which is not unusual due the nature of the sources. However, this highlights the large amount of bias evident in all of the accounts. For the colonial perspective, there are two statements, each from a member of a colonial militia that fought during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Both of these sources place the blame on the British soldiers and claim that the British fired first, killing several colonists. One account, from the Battle of North Bridge, claims that the colonists were ordered to hold their fire and that they didn’t fire until the British opened fire upon them. The other account, from soldier who fought during the skirmish at the Lexington Green, states that the colonists did not even get a single shot off, at least not before the soldier whose account this is was wounded. This source also claims that the British commanding officers were yelling at and insulting the colonists as their ranks closed on the milita. Both these sources are very similar to the colonial perspectives of the Boston Massacre because they all place the blame on the British soldiers and attempt to make themselves appear as the victims.

William Wyatt and Captain Thomas Preston had very different accounts on what happened at the Boston Massacre. Wyatt said that he was in Boston, when he heard the bells ring, which usually indicated that there is a fire. He ran up too the Town-house, where he saw soldiers and their officer, who was telling them to load their guns and then proceeded to tell the soldiers to fire. When they did not fire, he told them to fire again, until someone did and after everyone fired and killed townspeople, the officer yelled "Damn ye, rascals, what did ye fire for?" Wyatt also mentioned that the towns people did not throw anything at the soldiers.

Before the founding of America newspapers were local and worked for their own agenda. With the unfair taxes and acts that were passed by Parliament the nation needed to create a unity in the colonies. Colonies formed Committees of Correspondence to keep each other informed of the resistance efforts throughout the colonies. Newspapers reprinted the tales of the protests and actions against Britain. This created American propaganda to obtain fair treatment from Britain. The greatest time that the newspapers came together to inform the colonies of the Boston Massacre. Being the biggest piece of propaganda at the time, the massacre lead to more colonists believing that they could be a part of a bigger political community and was one of the turning points in American History that lead to the independence of the country from British rule.

During the night of March 5, 1770, colonists gathered outside the Boston Customs House. As the crowd grew bigger, colonists started to throw “snowballs, oyster shells, and chunks of ice” at the soldiers. The soldiers panicked and fired at the colonists causing the death of five colonists and ten injured men. I believe that the cause of the Boston Massacre was due to the British. The reason why I blame the British is because, the British soldiers could have handled the situation, made unnecessary actions, and made the colonists angry with taxes and the Quartering act.

Before America was America people fought a war where theoretically they should not have won. After the war ended, they came out victors, but at the price of losing thousands of men. “We are fallen into the most unhappy times, when even innocence itself is nowhere safe!” (Boston Gazette, February 1770). This excerpt shows that the people in the colonies were angry and wanted change. There was sufficient cause for the American colonists to take up arms and rebel against the British government because people have the right to privacy, and Britain was not giving it to them.

The Boston Massacre was an important event in U.S. history, that lead to the American

The British were responsible for causing the American Revolution because they put unfair limitations on the colonies. One of Great Britain’s limits on the colonies was the Proclamation of 1763. The Proclamation of 1763 states that the colonies can not expand their reign west of the Appalachian Mountain and the Indians could not move east towards the East Cost (Hakim 36). Britain was scared that as the colonies grew in population and in power, along with the Indians and French that were in the New World, that they would not be able to contain all of them (Hakim 36). Britain was scared that the Colonies would continue to grow in power and the risk of overthrowing Britain was an immanent threat (Class notes). Britain thought it was best to put these limitations on the colonies to prevent that from happening. The people in the colonies were forced to stay east of the Appalachians without a say from their Colonial Assemblies. This upset the colonies and they sent letter after letter to Great Britain to try to break this law but Britain would not give the colonies any say. Britain was not the only person to blame. The colonies acted immaturely to this proclamation. The colonists thought that land was perfectly fine and did not care much about the British demand. When the colonies did not follow Britain rules, Britain was upset and created taxes on the colonies. This downward spiral continued until the colonies and Great Britain were at each others throats. They kept going back and

Boston Massacre The day of 5, March 1770 have its immense significance in the history of America. It is remembered as the day of the killing of five heroes of the revolutionary process of America. It is the day of Boston Massacre. It has its strong implications in the nation’s history (Sanchez).

Recently, I have been viewing the HBO mini-series titled John Adams; a take on historian David McCullough 's book of the same title. The series begins with the Boston Massacre and continues through historical events that led to the Revolutionary War and the creation of a new government. It has been exciting to watch for various reasons (I love history, especially revolutionary history). However, what struck me in the series is the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence and the war itself. In other words, the moments that led to a dramatic change in thought and action in the colonies. Many of the founders, according to the movie portrayal and McCullough 's interpretation of history, were reluctant of drastic change. Some, if not a majority, wanted reform rather than revolution. It was the persuasive talents of a handful of individuals, as well as some actions by the British, that tipped the tides. As I ponder this perspective of the start of our nation, I cannot help but ask the questions: What is the best approach to initiate needed change? How am I a change agent? And, I frame these questions within the context of the current educational system.

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.

On March 5th 1770, shots was were fired at colonists leaving 5 of them dead. The colonist were mad about the Stamp Act and were protesting. The King sent soldiers to go and maintain the colonist, this later ended up causing the boston massacre. The Boston Massacre lead to more tension for the revolutionary war. There were a lot people that could have been at fault on this day. The colonists are to blame because they were taunting the soldiers, throwing objects at the soldiers, and the colonist were upset with the stamp act.

Although the Jamestown Colony stands today as the first permanent English settlement, the colony is also known for their hardships while sailing and after landing in Virginia. While the Disney movie “Pocahontas” is based loosely on the reality of the Jamestown Colony, having some similarities, there are some differences between the movie and its reality.