Similarities And Differences Of The Boston Massacre And The Kent State Shooting

The Boston Massacre destroyed the peaceful life of the colonists. The British attacked the colonists leaving many wounded and several of them dead. Colonists were just throwing snowballs at them but the soldiers’ reacted way out of place. A massacre for a minor action

The Kent State shooting played a major role in Nixon’s resignation from presidency and the public’s opinion of the Vietnam War. The students that were protesting started when Nixon announced intervention into Cambodia. Outraged students met on campus the very next day to show that they didn’t agree with the presidents decision. During the shooting students threw containers of tear gas back at the guardsmen. Some students threw rocks as the soldiers left. Protestors would shout “Pigs Off Campus!” (Axelrod et al. 256) Many of the soldiers sent to settle the frustrated protestors were weekend warriors who chose the guard to avoid ending up in Vietnam. Mandy soldiers lacked training for combat and crowds. Most soldiers were confused by the actions of the students and weren’t sure how to react. The student protestors refused the guards orders to disperse which resulted in the guardsmen throwing tear gas toward the rioting protestors. The protestors consisted of upper class and middle class residents.

It is often said to remember important mistakes, crimes, declines, anything negative so that, "History does not repeat itself." Some of the notable mistakes include strategic errors in wars; such as the French, in World War I, stacking the Maginot Line while the Germans marched around it, and in World War II doing the exact same thing. Other mistakes include incidents on domestic soil in which protests turn violent such as the Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Kent State Shootings in 1970. Other than each happening on Mondays and occurring almost two hundred years apart, the two draw deeper comparisons to one another which caused widespread protest leaving marks in American history. Upon reviewing these two cases it triggers the

The Boston Massacre is know as the unjust killing of five American colonists by British soldiers on King street on March 5, 1770. This massacre fueled the rage of the colonist which was already burning in them from eighteen months prior when the British sent four regiments of soldiers to Boston. The four regiments contained over two thousand soldiers who were sent to patrol a town that only contained about one thousand six hundred, and the majority were children. With these statics there was about one red coat or British soldier for every two grown men. Which just cause more tension between the colonist and the soldiers, and some that even led to violence.

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

In Brinkley eyes, results from The Boston Massacre is more than just a tragic but rather another cause for the revolution and claiming independence for the U.S. from Britain. As taxes rises and become more abundant, the colonists started to take actions against the British, causing the tensions to get worse. The Boston Massacre, along with other significant events such as Boston Tea Party, Boston Port Act, and more set the revolution in motion. The Boston Massacre was another event that help fueling the flame for the claim of independence.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines massacre as “the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty” or “a cruel or wanton murder” (m-w.com). Essentially a massacre results in either the death of many people or death by cruel means. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts and involved American colonists and British troops. The colonists, upset by recent laws enacted by the British, taunted a smaller group of British soldiers by throwing snowballs at them (Boston Massacre Historical Society). In response, the soldiers fired upon the unarmed colonists leaving five people dead and six wounded (Phelan, 131). Even

On May 1 1970 a massive demonstration was held at Kent State, on the Commons (a grassy area in the center of campus that is used as a gathering place for rallies) and another one was planned for May 4. The students were angry and there were many who were calling to "bring the war home."

Another event that eroded support in the war and US Government occured during a protest at Kent State University. During a protest on May 4, 1970, twenty-nine National Guardsmen gathered at the university to oversee a Vietnam War protest. In the midst of the protest, the National Guardsmen fired into the crowd of protesters killing four people in the process (Gordon Page 35). This event sparked an enormous uprising from the public and “the event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close” (Lewis). This strike had a huge social impact and through the constant strikes and protests that followed the shootings caused the US Government to lose the trust, respect, and support of many American citizens (Gordon Page 35). The Kent State shootings were also able to reach the international stage through the abundance of news broadcasts and songs following the shooting. Ohio, a famous song by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, focuses heavily on the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings with lyrics stating, “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming. We're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming. Four dead in Ohio” (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young) as a direct reference to the Kent State tragedy. “A tin soldier is a toy soldier, mindlessly controlled by its owner” (Songfacts Staff). Neil Young was implying with these lyrics that the National Guard was mindlessly following orders from Nixon. This song became wildly popular and is

With colonists throwing snowballs with shards of ice to colonists laying on the ground and losing blood. 5 colonist deaths and 6 nonfatal injuries that profoundly affected their day-to-day lives. The Boston Massacre was a fatal altercation between a mob of violent protesting colonists and a group of British soldiers protecting themselves. It occurred on the night of March 5th, 1770, a small argument broke out between a few colonists and British Private Hugh White in front of the Custom House in Boston. After a while, more colonists started to gather around creating an agitated mob. Many think that the British were at fault for firing when not given permission, and others think the colonists were at fault for harassing and mocking the

The colonists showed their determination for the same rights as the British citizens by protesting for what they believed in. In the streets of Boston, British soldiers were being taunted by Patriots who steadily approached the soldiers. Finally, shots were fired and five men died and ten

The Boston massacre known as the incident on King Street by the British was an incident on March 5, 1770 in which the British Army soldiers killed five mill civilians and injured six others the incident was heavily propagandized by leading patriots such as Paul revere and Samuel Adams, do you fuel animosity toward the British authorities. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support crown appointed Colonel officials attempting to enforce unpopular parliamentary legislation. Amid ongoing tense relations between the population and the soldiers, mom formed around a British sentry, Who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment. He was eventually

The first reason I believe the Boston Massacre is because of Paul Revere's painting. After studying his painting, I would say it is very inaccurate. Not only was Crispus Attucks not shown as an African American, but Paul Revere shows innocence to the crowd of colonists. It was said that colonists had started by throwing snowballs, but snow is also not located anywhere on the painting. The saying that the Boston Massacre must've started after nine o'clock in the evening may be a false statement too because there is a patch of blue sky showing. I believe the Boston Massacre may actually have started in the morning as the moon can still be up, even during light. Paul Revere's painting was basically an

The tension between the colonies and Britain was nothing new. There were several occasions where the colonies became greatly infuriated with the unpleasant treatment they were receiving. Prior to the year 1770, much of the outcry came from the acts passed by the British government, such as the Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Declaratory Act (“A Timeline of the American Revolution”). Even though the colonists were infuriated, it would take something more to push them over the edge. This something would turn out to be what is now called the Boston Massacre. Although the Boston Massacre won’t go down as the deadliest massacre in American history, it will go down as one of the most pivotal turning points due to the colonists’ depiction of the event.

Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).