Essay on The Townshed Act and 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 Boston Massacre is one of the most controversial events in American history that occurred in Boston before the American Revolution. Certainly, it has a fundamental role in the development of America as a nation, which led it to have a huge motivation for revolution. A heavy British military presence and having very high taxes in the country were some of the main reasons that made Boston citizens very irritated. Thus, there were already many disagreements and tensions between inhabitants and the British that could have led to the Massacre. In this essay, I will carefully analyze three primary sources, and compare these to the interpretation given by HBO’s John Adams. In my view, these sources can be

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.

Due to the British tightening their control over the colonies to pay off the huge debt after the French and Indian War, patriots rebelled and started a revolution that would lead to great things. These were colonists who believed that the right to govern themselves belonged to the colonies. Britain had recently gotten into a war in the Americas against France and the Native Americans. Although they won and expanded their American empire, the debt they were in was just about up to their necks. To help solve this problem, they took more control over the colonies. Before the Proclamation of 1763, Britain did not pay much attention to the colonies. However Prime Minister George Grenville needed help to pay off the debt, and the British people were already paying taxes on several of their

Revolution. This event brought attention to the unfair ways the British soldiers were treating the colonists. The British were treating the colonists unfairly by taxing them and using their homes for shelter and food. They used them for food by making them make meals for them to eat and if the colonist was a farmer with horses they would also take the horses. I will talk about the famous lawyer John Adams and other events that happened in the Boston Massacre.

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.     

British soldiers were unwelcome in the colonies because of the harsh taxation that was forced upon them from Great Britain. On March 5, 1770, a small group of colonists were taunting British soldiers. The soldiers responded violently and decided to open fire. Colonists began to gather at the scene. Multiple colonists were wounded, and 5 were killed. This night became known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre was an act of anger from few colonists against the British government because of the taxes. The massacre could be considered a statement from the colonies. A statement that eventually led to an even bigger war known as the American Revolution. Because of the French and Indian war, harsh taxation was brought upon the colonists. This harsh taxation frustrated the colonists and resulted in a statement of anger from them, being the Boston Massacre (Gale, 2003.) The Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party go hand in

All the dispute between American colonist and the government of United kingdom take place when King George III send his military to America to control the agony created by the American colonist. This move of ruling government was quite unacceptable for American colonist as they consider it quite uneasy situation for me (Neil L. York). This step enhances the resentment in local people, and they start showing their hate to the government and military of the ruling country. With the passage of time, the situation becomes worse for the government to maintain law and order situation in the colony of America. Ultimately all these small events of hate for the ruling government leads the situation towards the Boston Massacre.

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

The Boston massacre was played out to be such a big thing, although it was a misunderstanding. It was the colonists who were asking for there to be trouble. If the colonists were not throwing things and beating the British then the gun would have never gone off. The colonists were protesting against someone who was not doing anything wrong. Why were the colonists protesting something that we still have today? Before the colonists were threatening the British the British was just doing their jobs. The colonists were the ones threatening the British so why were the British put in jail for it? In conclusion, 8 British soldiers were arrested for using self defense. If the colonists were not protesting no shots would have been fired so the Boston massacre would have never happened, in the end the Boston massacre was just propaganda towards the

Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which placed taxes on paper, lead, paint, and tea that was imported to New England. The colonist began to boycott these goods which angered English authorities. They placed military officials so that they could force the colonists to pay the much needed taxes. Tensions between British soldiers and colonists escalated. This lead to the Boston Massacre; it was propagandized and impassioned many settlers to rebel. In response for the unfair taxes on tea, the colonists dumped the imported tea into the harbor. People became much more ardent to their side after the incident. You were either for the revolution; a patriot, or you sided with England; a loyalist.

The Boston Massacre was an extremely important event in American History. Also, it a very controversial topic. To this day, no one can really give an accurate description of the events that transpired. The Boston Massacre was not a random event at all; many actions led up to the massacre. As a result of this disaster, America was changed forever and sent on a road towards revolution. The Boston Massacre was a defining moment in American history.

March 5, 1770 – Boston Massacre – A crowd gathered, “a motley rabble of saucy boys, negroes and mulattoes, Irish teagues and outlandish jack tars” as John Adams called them during the soldiers’ trial.

On the cold night of March 5th, 1770, a mob of American colonists were protesting outside the Customs House in Boston. One colonist threw a snowball hitting Private Hugh Montgomery. Montgomery replied with a shot into the crowd. This led the rest of the British Army soldiers to shoot into the crowd killing five people in an event that would later be known as the Boston Massacre (Foner and Garraty). After this protest, more and more taxes were levied against the colonies, particularly regarding tea. To add, trade with nations besides Great Britain was prohibited. These affronts were met with the tarring and feathering of British tax collectors and the infamous Boston Tea Party. As a result of this, Massachussetts was essentially ruled by martial law. This finally culminated with a declaration of independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. The United States of America was formed.

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.