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The Causes Of The Boston Massacre

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Secondly, the Americans were unjustified in their separation from Britain because they had a biased view against all that the British did. One well known event that occurred before the American Revolution was the Boston Massacre (History.com Staff, “Boston Massacre”). It occurred on the 5th of March in 1770. A bunch of British soldiers came to support a sentry that was being harassed and taunted by a crowd of American colonists. In response, the British fired. Three were immediately dead upon the first shots and another two died due to extensive wounds. After the event, some important colonial men - such as Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere - started to spread propaganda to try and get colonists to support them in fighting for their independence (Insider, Business). Some include the disjointed snake, illustrated in 1754 and a print that depicted an armless and legless person illustrated to repeal the Stamp Act - both drawn by Benjamin Franklin. Yet, one very noteworthy piece of propaganda, engraved by Paul Revere in 1770, depicts the story of the Boston Massacre. But, based on the engraving, the story was completely different than what actually had happened (Document 3). According to the engraving, the colonists were not fighting and the British were killing “innocents” because they “felt like it”. However, in Document 3, the description says that the British fired because they were threatened. Because of the biased views of influential American leaders such as Benjamin

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