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.
There are three major things that led to the Boston Massacre: First was the
…show more content…
To please the crowds Governor Hutchinson arrested the soldiers and promised the people that there would be a trial. John Adams and Josiah Quincy took the defense of the soldiers and Preston. The soldiers went to trial in September and they and captain Preston pleaded innocent. The eight men and Preston were tried separately and only two were found guilty. The others were acquitted while the two found guilty were branded on the hand and released, an easy penalty for murder. Preston was found innocent. Adams was successful in proving the soldiers fired in self-defense.
The soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre were proven innocent. “Adam proved that the soldiers fired in self-defense'; (no author 10).
I believe the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre and/or the captain Tomas Preston should have been convicted Guilty.
The five deaths were unjustified and unneeded. All of the five men were unarmed at the time of the shootings. If someone throws an apple at you, you don’t shoot him or her. In a today’s court system I believe them British soldiers would have been guilty and been convicted with murder. “Adams said, the killing were justified and blamed the violence of the immigrant Patrick Carr and Crispus Attucks'; (Mahin 1). So if Adams believes the death of the five men were blamed on them two how come they weren’t just arrested and how come the others were shot. “Adams told the jury
The textbook and the diary entry are both similar on how the massacre began, but the textbook states that the soldiers came to assist White, ending in the soldier being surrounded by the crowd and one of the soldiers being knocked down. The soldier that was knocked down, got up and fired his musket according to the textbook, but the diary entry stated that Captain Preston commanded the soldiers to fire. The textbook does not state anything about the soldiers being immediately removed, but states that the redcoats left for Canada.
Following the incident, Thomas Hutchinson started the investigation process, which led to the arrest of eight soldiers and four civilians. In the investigations, the arrested soldiers and four civilians were allegedly involved in the exchange fire and were consequently charged with murder. These soldiers included Hugh White, William Wemms, William McCauley, Matthew Killroy, John Carrol, James Hartgen, Hugh Montogomery, and William Warren. Their case was brought before Justices Benjamin Lynde, Peter Oliver, Edund Troweridge, and John Cushing. The government was committed to giving the soldiers a fair trial to eliminate the grounds for retaliation from
After the end of the French and Indian War, many distinct and controversial events built up the tensions between the colonies and Great Britain. The end of the French and Indian War was determined by The Treaty of Paris, which clearly stated that England would gain all land east of the Mississippi River and Spain would gain all land west of the Mississippi River from France. Although England gained a mass amount of land from the war, they were also put into major debt due to the immeasurable amount of spending during the war. To help pay off their substantial amount, the parliament started passing many acts and laws on the colonist to help increase their revenue, which in fact lead to the American Revolutionary War. Great Britain and the parliament
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
| Despite the fact that most eyewitnesses’ testimonies denounced Captain Thomas Pretson ordering his men to fire upon the citizens, he believed these people were biased and words aren’t 100% reliable.
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
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
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.
There were two separate trials, one for Captain Preston and one for the soldiers. The first one started about one month after the massacre, the second one started on November 27, 1770.
The British soldiers were anything but loved by the American colonists in the 1770s. They maliciously planned an attack on the soldiers because of their hate. Many townspeople gathered together in effort to strike against the British presence. The men were just doing their job trying to keep order in Boston, but the people still taunted them. The soldiers were being tried for murder because they fired at the people, but those charges should not have existed. The crowd initially attacked the soldiers, not the other way around. It was also dark out so the soldiers did not know of the number of colonist attackers. The soldiers heard the word fire coming from the crowd, confusing the voices with Captain Preston’s. The incident referred to as the
To deeply understand that what is Boston Massacre is all about, it is necessary to critically analyze the causes and effects of the incident of Boston Massacre. Boston Massacre is considered as one of the decisive incidents in the history of America. The act of Boston Massacre happened on March 5, 1770. This incident was known as the act of massacre because it causes the brutal killing of five American men due to the fight between British soldiers and the American
As you may perceive the Revolutionary war is about how we got our freedom! And the boston Massacre was something that had really contributed to that. It was when the colonist had really started to realize that someone thousands and thousands miles away who never even seen their territory shouldn't rule them. They finally saw that even though he's their king, that doesn't mean that he forever owns them so decided to break free. They had started to turmoil voicing how they don't think this is right and they should have their rights and freedom. Sometimes they would protest peacefully by marching through the streets shouting and boycotting british goods.. But other times they would not. A perfect example of this is the Boston Massacre, where they
“Between the hours of nine and ten o’clock, being in my master’s house, was alarmed by the cry of fire, I ran down as far as the town-house, and then heard that the soldiers and the inhabitants were fighting in the alley… I then left them and went to King street. I then saw a party of soldiers loading their muskets about the Custom house door, after which they all shouldered. I heard some of the inhabitants cry out, “heave no snow balls”, others cried “they dare not fire”. The Boston massacre has been no massacre it was propaganda. The incident that happened March 5th, 1770 in the streets of Boston only killed five people and had six people with non fatal injuries. There were
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.
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.