What Was The Boston Massacre An Accident

What follow are the events and tensions leading up to the Boston Massacre on March 5th, 1770. The soldiers and the colonists were quarreling and there were high tensions amongst them. In the days leading up to the massacre the soldiers may have plotted against the colonists of New England. There was a fight that took place at the ropemakers, which is considered to be one of the most influential encounters between the soldiers and the New Englanders. There are several different accounts of how this conflict took place. According to Captain Preston, “[o]n the [2nd] instant two of the 29th going through one Gray's ropewalk, the rope-makers insultingly asked them if they would empty a vault. This unfortunately had the desired effect by provoking

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.

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.     

On the cold and snowy night of March 5, 1770, rioters marched down King Street in Boston, breaking the usual silence. In front of the customs office, the violent rioters were met by five British soldiers and their commanding officer. They immediately began haranguing the soldiers. During the ensuing chaos, the soldiers, who had been bombarded by stones and balls of ice, were becoming anxious as they waited for commands from their superiors. However, the soldiers panicked when they heard, through the yells of the rioters, the word “Fire!”. Upon hearing that word, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd with their muskets. “Shouts and curses filled the air.” (pg. 206). Five rioters were swiftly killed.This was the infamous Boston Massacre- An event that shaped U.S. history and fed the growing flames of revolution among the British colonists in America. After the massacre, the outraged people of Boston called for a trial. Defending the soldiers was renowned lawyer and future president John Adams, who believed that everyone should be granted a fair trial. With the help of Mr. Adams, the soldiers were determined to achieve victory. Through months of thought and many struggles, they succeeded. As punishment, the soldiers were branded and sent back to England, but

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.

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

Fischer also mentions in his book the events of the Boston Massacre that took place on March 5, 1770 and its impact into the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Due to the increase of soldiers placed in Boston, colonists grew angry. This was seen as another invasion of the colonist’s liberties. They felt that it was the British rule’s way of showing a distrust

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 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.”

The Boston Massacre is appropriately named because on March 5th 1770 the bostonian colonists outraged at the fact redcoats (british soldiers) were in their city. The bostonians rioted in the streets, threw sticks stones snowballs and whatever trash they could find lying around. On this day the colonists marched towards the bank, redcoats were sent to help ward off the colonists but that only made the bostonians angrier. In the confusion 5 shots were fired by the redcoats, striking 5 colonists dead. The word of the horrible day at boston was spread through propaganda to the other colonies.This event is STILL remembered as one of the most important events leading up to the american revolution. The

It was March 5, 1770, the people of Boston were protesting out in front of the old state house. British soldiers patrolling King street, people hollering, this was the Boston Massacre. Soldiers were sent to Boston to maintain control over the colonist and they were not contented. A crowd has rapidly formed and they were tossing things such as, rock-filled snowballs, bricks, and stones while being insulted. Quoting from witnesses, ¨lobster backs¨, ¨red coats¨, cowards! And quoting Henry Knox, ¨For God´s Sake, take care of your men. If they fire, they die¨. But quite a few things happened before all of this. General Preston had wanted to be prepared and his only intentions were to ¨protect” the city of Boston. He had ordered his soldiers to

The Boston massacre occurred primarily because of the Townshend Acts and other acts that required colonist to pay taxes on common goods. The Townshend Acts were enforced by the British parliament that placed taxes on common goods. These taxes, naturally, upset the colonist. After months of tension, the conflict between British troops and the colonist began to arise. On March 5th, 1770 an angry crowd of colonist decided to protest and display their frustration to the British troops. British soldiers led by Thomas Preston met the angry protesters which would later become a fatal event. It is said that Thomas Preston ordered his troop not to fire but due to the chaos the troops misheard his command and began to fire their weapons at the protesters.

In 1770 an extraordinary number of British troops were stationed in Boston. The Colonists didn’t understand why there were so many troops after the war. This added to the already existent tension. The colonists taunted the Red Coats and on March 5, 1770 the colonists threw snowballs resulting a hasty decision by the Red Coats to fire at the colonists. Five colonists were killed and nine were wounded. This night is known as 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”. A defiant anti-British fever was lingering among the townspeople.