Boston Massacre Dbq Essay

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 British had established a numerous amount of taxes, Townshend Acts, on the American colonies including taxes on tea, glass, paper, paint, and lead. The colonies did not like these laws (Brooks). This shows that the laws were not a big hit, they made the citizens upset. The laws or acts were not popular to the people, especially in Boston. This resulted to send more british troops to Boston in 1268, to help promote the new taxes (Brooks). This proves that the citizens did not like these laws they wanted to change them so the colonist roited. Boston citizens responded to the act by protesting british imports and vowed to find ways to increase manufacturing to make them less dependent on British goods (Brooks). This explains that the citizens did not like these laws so they started protesting. The laws were not very popular, it led to the colonists

During the night of March 5, 1770, colonists gathered outside the Boston Customs House. As the crowd grew bigger, colonists started to throw “snowballs, oyster shells, and chunks of ice” at the soldiers. The soldiers panicked and fired at the colonists causing the death of five colonists and ten injured men. I believe that the cause of the Boston Massacre was due to the British. The reason why I blame the British is because, the British soldiers could have handled the situation, made unnecessary actions, and made the colonists angry with taxes and the Quartering act.

The level of resentment between the 13 Colonies and the British was enough to spark a revolutionary war and it did. The outrage over taxation without representation was only intensified when the town of Concord got word that the British were coming to confiscate their weapons and their gunpowder. According to Forsht (2011) author of the Boston Tea Party the British fought several costly war of which they wanted the American Colonies to pay by stamping them for printed materials such as newspaper, magazines and playing cards. Forsht (2011), stated that the American colonies had no representation in parliament yet they were being taxed by a government in which they had no voice. This was all going to change on the night of 19 April 1775.

James Otis mentions “No part of His Majesty’s dominions can be taxed without their consent… this would seem to [contradict] the theory of the constitution” which explains that the governed must have a say in what they will be taxed on and if not, the British Parliament is par taking in illegal actions. With no representation in Parliament, American colonists who felt the taxes to be a little excessive had no other option other than civil disobedience to rebel. It is safe to to say that the colonists had every right to rebel against the British.

The colonies went into uproar. How could the British fire on unarmed men. A man of the name of Paul Revere started the Propaganda for this movement because he wanted tensions to

After the French and Indian War, Britain did numerous things to provoke the colonists to revolt against the tyrant king, King George III. The British taxed unfairly and enforced ridiculous laws on the colonists. the colonists rebelled due to anger and disgust toward Britain, and through pride and patriotism toward their future country, they fought for independence. King George III was a cruel and unfair man. He treated the colonists wrongly and ungraciously.

They formed many groups and executed riots to protest against this serious disregard of human rights and pride. One way they combated this crude injustice was The Boston Tea Party. At this time, Britain was taxing America’s tea heavily, an imposition that the colonists did not agree to. Rebels involved were members of The Sons of Liberty, colonists vying for freedom and individual rights. The rebels dressed as Native Americans and stormed an incoming boat carrying a fresh load of tea. They dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor as a form of protest; a refusal to pay Britain’s taxes. John Adam, in The Boston Tea Party (Doc. 2) concludes that Britain’s actions have created a much larger and public form of protest. More rebels were coming out into the open as the revolution gains momentum. This proves that the taxation aggravated the colonists as the abuse accumulated, urging them towards rebellion. Colonists also took up tarring as a form of discipline as a response to taxes created during the Stamp Acts. Angry Americans poured hot tar over tax collectors and covered them in feathers to express their displeasure at the imposed taxes. Those fortunate enough to avoid this public humiliation fled or became too scared to go about their collecting duties. In a letter from John Hancock regarding the Stamp Act (Doc. 4), he stresses that these taxes wrongly pressed upon them didn’t have to be

with a great amount of nationalism. While this was happening, the mother county, the British Empire was in debt from the war. The only way the mother country could receive the money was by taxing the colonists. Most of these taxes were already in the law but were never enforced. Amazingly, this angered the colonists. Most of the colonists were influenced by the small percentage of people who riled up the rest. ( Document 4). Thes pople were called the Sons of Liberty or Patriots. It wasn’t long before the colonists started a revolution So the question is were the colonists were justified or unjustified in waging the revolution and braking away from the mother

On March 5, 1770, there was a clash between a “patriot” mob throwing snowballs, stones and sticks, and a party of British soldiers, armed with charged bayonets. (Document 2). There was a massacre on March 5, 1770, in Boston, because the British men overreacted and killed colonists in an unfair way. The first reason why it was a massacre was the cruelty of the British. The evidence that supports my claim is when the colonists were provoking the British with snowballs and such, the British captain commanded his troops to fire, yelling, “Damn you, fire, be the consequence what it will!”

After the French and Indian War when England was in debt from fighting a war around the world, England just wanted the colonists to pay, not for the war that they had just been through, but for a portion of the protection that they are currently receiving from the British Troops. The amount the colonists were paying wasn't even a fourth of the amount necessary to sustain the protection that they were receiving (Document F). In order for England to receive their money, the British government began to enforce their Navigation Acts which allowed the promising of the American Colonial Economy to support the English Economy. The British were enforcing their Mercantilist policies keeping all the profits from the Colonies within the English Empire allowing England to exercise its control over the colonial economy. The British enforced taxes that the Colonists didn’t appreciate, they didn’t even care if the tax helped them monetarily like the Tea Act of 1773 which made the legal tea cheaper than illegal tea even with the tax. The Colonists believed in “No taxation, without representation,” a saying which ignited a spark within Colonists to stand up to the British government. Benjamin Franklin wrote a letter to put a stop to the Stamp Act which expressed his loyalty and love for England, but also showed that England should repeal their Act for the good of the colonies

“The shot heard round the world” left the barrel just after dawn in Lexington on July 29th 1775. This single shot sparked the true beginning of the Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary war was a conflict that lasted for seven years. Many different events occurred throughout those years that fueled the war, and one was the Boston Massacre or The Late Unhappy Disturbance in Boston as it was known in London. Even though it is widely accepted that the Boston Massacre was a result of the actions of both the colonists and the British soldiers, the true cause lies behind the gunfire of the British.

On March 5, 1770, British soldiers shot and killed five people on King Street in Boston Massachusetts. This incident is now known as the “Boston Massacre.” The soldiers were under attack of a heckling, snowballing mob of American colonists. The colonists- “Patriots”- were protesting the British troops presence in their city. The troops were sent to Boston in 1768 to enforce unpopular taxation measures passed by British Parliament that lacked American representation.

In addition the Colonists wanted independence from Great Britain because the king created an unreasonable taxes. Of course was unreasonable because that is what the king wanted He wanted to make the taxes unreasonable so he could get the money. The Patriots lived in Jamestown,Virginia in 1607. Now what did they do? Well they decided to do crafting and trading which was popular back then so that they could get money. Secondly , they created juries of men called “ Committees of Safety”. Finally, they wanted to resist by boycotting or not buying British goods. To put it that way they basically stopped buying British goods so the British will not get as money as they used to do. Now let us talk about the Loyalists

The British impose taxes onto the American colonists to pay of their debt from the war. When the British force these taxes onto the colonists, it makes them feel as if all their efforts towards freedom were for nothing. Colonists left Britain to hopefully escape British control but the British wouldn’t let them have their freedom.