Leading up to the Boston Massacre Who knew that a shot fired by British soldiers in the streets of Boston in 1770 would spark the American Revolution? It all started with King George III, who became king of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760. He was only 22 years old. The first war that he participated in was known as the French and Indian War. “When France’s expansion into the Ohio River valley brought repeated conflict with the claims of the British colonies, a series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756.” (French and Indian War) The British were not so lucky during the first year, they ended up losing all ties with their Native American alliances. Years gone by of continuous fighting, by 1763, France 's allies …show more content…
Colonists did not agree that the British government should raise revenue when it comes to taxing the colonies. The most notable for all that happening was the Stamp Act, the Townshend Tariffs and the Tea Act. The colonists also did not agree with the fact that they were not having the same rights as other British subjects. Because of that, violence occurred on the day of March 5, 1770, which was known as the Boston Massacre. The British soldiers ended up killing five men who were Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Patrick Carr, and Crispus Attucks. A few years gone by and they passed yet another act known as the Intolerable Acts. They passed this act because in December of 1773, “a band of Bostonians dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.” (American Revolutionary History) Parliament decided to pass those acts to uphold imperial authority in …show more content…
The next trial was for the British soldiers, their trial did not start till November 27th and ended up lasting till December 5th. The soldiers they prosecuted was Corporal William Wemms, James Hartigan, William McCauley, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren, John Carrol and Hugh Montgomery. Adams made it sound like the colonists had a way to defend themselves, yet the soldiers only had little, he also quoted “had the right to fire due to self defense.” But, Patrick Carr while he was laying in his death bed, had a testimony and agreed that his men were provoking and that they had a right to fire due to self defense. The jury ended up freeing six soldiers except two who were guilty of manslaughter, they were Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy. The Effect of Crispus Attucks Death Crispus Attucks was an important part in American history because of his presence in the Boston Massacre, his role as a Revolutionary Martyr, and his trials. Attucks body ended up being transported to Faneuil Hall but since segregation was a big concept back then, many believed he shouldn’t be buried with the other four men who. He is “an important figures in African-American history, not for what he did for his race but for what he did for all oppressed people everywhere.” (Who Was Crispus
Revere Published a poem and a drawing of a famous incident in the Boston Gazette on March 12, 1770. Crispus Attucks named from the accounts of the American Revolution was gonna dismiss the boston massacre because they thought it was a irrelevant incident in the struggle for an American Independence. Attucks sacrifice without doubt puts him me category as prominent African American heroes Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman. Attucks has became an icon of an anti slavery movement back in the nineteenth century as a hero who stood up and died defending the freedom and rights to
This is important because Boston Massacre is a significant event that leads to the American Revolutionary War. It’s considered as a turning point of American’s quest to be independent. It helps galvanize the colonists to
According to this view Preston should be held responsible for the massacre in which he was supposedly at fault. My own view is that Thomas Preston did not give the command to his troops to open fire into the crowd of protesters and the verdict of innocent at his trial was very well justified. On March 5, 1770 a totality of five colonists was shot fatally while six others suffered from non-fatal
On March 5, 1770 a street fight occurred between a mob of Boston citizens and British soldiers. The soldiers were increasingly unwelcome in Boston so the citizens threw snowballs, stones, and sticks at the group of soldiers who had been stationed here- the soldiers retaliated. The citizens were very outnumbered and the fight resulted in five deaths and six injuries from Boston. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty named this event the Boston Massacre. The morning after, John Adams was sitting in his law office when Paul Revere revealed an engraving that showed Thomas Preston (captain of the British soldiers) ordering troops to fire at point blank range on the citizens.
The British troops or soldiers presence was unwelcome to the town. The riot began with about 50 of the american colonists, they started shouting and throwing things at the British soldiers. A british sentinel was attacked first. After, Captain Thomas Preston called over soldiers to help the sentinel. They to were attacked, which led to shots being fired into the crowd that ended up killing three american
What we know today as the Boston massacre was when the men of the British army fired their weapons at civilians that were on a riot. Many were killed in the firings, and this is all because of taxes by the government. They were known for their saying no taxation without representation, this blew up after British taxed their people after the French-Indian war, they were taxed for paper, tea, chocolate, just about anything. In the war there was a
In Document one it shows british warships taking over the harbour. To the colonists eyes this appears as a threat. In Document three it shows a picture of british soldiers shooting into a crowd of innocent people. In Document four it talks about how the soldiers assaulted and beat innocent people in the streets. This was written in the town of Boston which makes sense considering that most of the town was against the british being in boston.
The Boston Massacre was and still the most debatable massacre. No one seems to know what actually took place on March 5th 1770. They are many different stories written telling on what had happened that day but no one is sure what is facts and what is myth. In this essay I will help evaluate three documents written days after the event happened. One reason why this event took place was because the Parliament passed the Stamp act, which is a way to finance the British Troops in North America.
The colonist was angry and the soldiers panicked as they were surrounded by mobs of angered colonist and the sons of liberty. Looking at the situation on the side of the British soldiers, it was safe to say that they were scared and angry because of the sheer amount of colonist who surrounded them. However, this still does not give them the right to open fire among unarmed civilians without authorization. One could argue that their lives were in danger as they were going to be attacked, but I would argue that there could have been other ways to attempt to fix the situation. On the other hand, looking at the side of the colonist mobbing the soldiers and provoking them by throwing stuff at them was not a wise decision either.
The colonials were upset because of ridiculous taxing, which imposed by the British government. The colonist’s response to the situation was boycotting the goods. And so the British government dispatched thousand of troops in Boston, which created a tension between the colonists and the military. On March 5, 1770, the British troops gathered at the custom house in order to protect it. There was a strong resentment in the crowd, as they harassed the troops.
The tragic events that took place on March of 1770 only took a few hours to progress, but the Boston Massacre is better understood in combination of several historic events. Beginning with a conflict with the British soldiers and finishing with the demise of five colonists, the events of the Boston Massacre took several years to get to. The large presence of British troops in Boston that resulted in the fatal shooting was the direct outcome of the Townshend Acts. The acts passed by British Parliament imposed extra taxes on common products imported into the Colonies.
The Boston Massacre was an accident in the beginning, but it continued to go on until it reached an extent where it could be an accident no longer. The real question is when did this accident start, and when did it get too far? Some say it should have never happened. others say it was the start of the revolution. Captain Thomas Preston was a British officer stationed in Massachusetts staying in a home with other soldiers under the Quartering Act.
RWDV says, “The jury acquitted Captain Preston on the basis of ‘reasonable doubt’ and acquitted six of the eight soldiers. Two soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter and thus escaped the death penalty.” Although there were some drawbacks, Adams was right to take the case and defend the Captain and his men. He demonstrated his dedication to the principles of justice and the due process of law, and he helped improve the image of the colonies. The Boston Massacre and its aftermath continue to serve as a reminder of the importance of upholding principles in the face of adversity and a testament to the power of justice and fairness in shaping
If the following events didn’t take place we wouldn’t have America. In my opinion the Boston Massacre was one of the very main causes to why the Road to Revolution took place. The reason I believe this was an important cause because it was, “ the first episode which resulted in the loss of life.” It is stated that, “Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob.”
The colonists tried to tell the British that they did not like the law and they didn’t listen so the colonists tipped lots of the British tea into the harbor to show they really don’t like the law. The Intolerable Acts began when the British hoped to force the colonists for the tea lost in the harbor and to obey British rule. The Coercive Acts closed the port of Boston and imposed military rule on all of Massachusetts. The colonists could not tolerate the acts. On the day the acts went into effect, flags throughout the colonies were flown