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Capital Punishment Essay: The Boston Massacre

550 Words3 Pages

“It took only few hours for the tragic events to unfold on the evening in March of 1770, starting from a confrontation with the British regulars and ending with the death of five colonists. It took several years to get to the situation. The Boston Massacre is best understood in the context of several other key historic events.” “The heavy presence of British troops in Boston that lead to the fatal shooting was the direct results of the Townshend Acts passed by British Parliament to impose additional taxes on common products imported into the Colonies. These products among others included paper, glass and tea.”2 “On October 1, 1768 a group of British regulars arrived in Boston, MA to maintain order. The civilians reacted to the redcoats like …show more content…

“The guilty soldiers of the Boston Massacre, Kilroy and Montgomery, returned to court nine days after their trial, on December 14, 1770, for sentencing - which should have been the mandatory death penalty.”5 “However, according to English common law, felons convicted of some crimes, not affecting the king, were entitled to the 'benefit of clergy' for the first offence. The benefit of clergy was originally a provision by which clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ecclesiastical court under canon law. Eventually, it was extended to first-time offenders who could receive a more lenient sentence. Kilroy and Montgomery entered a claim and were granted 'benefit of clergy' to avoid the death sentence for their part in the Boston Massacre. But before they were released they had to be branded on their thumb by red hot iron bearing the letter "M" for manslaughter. Felons were only allowed to claim the 'benefit of clergy' once, a brand made it impossible to do otherwise. The sheriff of Boston, Stephen Greenleaf, undertook the duty of court branding the two Boston Massacre soldiers. Kilroy and Montgomery reportedly burst into tears before receiving the painful punishment. Kilroy and Montgomery were then released, discharged from the army and sent back to Britain following the tragic events of the Boston

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The Patriots and their French allies did not succeed, and the sight of his friends and countrymen dying at the hands of the British would drive Pinckney even further towards the revolutionary cause and shape him into one of the staunchest advocates for American independence. As a result of his service and political role, Pinckney was paroled to his home at Snee Farm after the Siege of Charleston. He was later placed in the horrible conditions of a British prison ship named the Pack Horse, where one-third of all prisoners died. While imprisoned, Pinckney wrote a letter to British Colonel Balfour describing the impriosnment as "a most injurious and disagreeable confinement" and "regunant to the laws of war. "

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The most famous piece of propaganda from the Boston Massacre was an illustration drawn by Paul Revere. It is important to remember that over two hundred years

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“One of them special goring the right lobe of the lungs and a great part of the liver most horribly.” The colonists that had been shot laid upon the fresh snow as their lives slowly faded away. The soldiers walked away as killers with only minor, worse than others, injuries. According to the Account of The Boston Massacre, soldiers showed cruelty to those who tried to help those who had been fired on.

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Paul Revere creates an elaborate print titled “The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street”. The Sons of Liberty use the incident as a powerful piece of propaganda .British troops were withdrawn from the city and several British soldiers are put on trial for murder. Sam Adams insists that the soldiers be tried for murder. John Adams defends the seven soldiers, but John Adams argued that “emotions cannot override facts” and that the soldiers acted in self-defense.

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The Soldiers did not fire. The Officer then stamped and said Damn your bloods fire be the consequences what it will. Immediately the first Gun was fired.” You may think that this is true, but three people (Theodore Bliss, Jane Whitehouse, and Newtown Prince) testify that they do not recall the captain saying fire to the soldiers. Another argument could be that these are soldiers who killed innocent people in the Boston Massacre.

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he infamous street fight that took place in Boston, Massachusetts is referred to as The Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. The riot started when a few young boys began to throw stones and rocks at British soldiers who were guarding the Customs House. The crowd around the boys started to grow larger and larger, and then people from the crowd begun to join the boys, throwing ice at the soldiers and taunting them. The soldiers then fired, killing five colonists.

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The Boston Massacre is an event most Americans and British students learn about over the course of their education. In America, we learn that British soldiers fired upon innocent civilians, although this may not have been the case. British historians have referred to the Boston Massacre as the "Incident on King Street". After looking over the "Captain Thomas Preston 's Account of the Boston Massacre", as well as "Boston Massacre Trial Depositions" I believe that American historians should refer to the "Boston Massacre" as the "Incident on King Street". The definition of a massacre refers to an unnecessary and random killing of a large number of individuals.

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and they too were attacked so they had to fire into the mob. Parliament passed the Tea Act, which gave the British East Indians company a complete monopoly of the American tea business meaning the colonists could only buy tea from this company. The colonists opposed this law even though it lowered the price of tea. They viewed the tea Act as merely another example

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Tensions were high in Boston between the British and the Colonists. Between the Boston Massacre in 1770 and the Boston Tea Party in 1773, Britain was very upset with Boston. King George III, the Lord North- led British government and many of the British citizens were very upset and irritated when they found out that the Boston colonists had made “Tea with salt water”. Once the parliament heard of their escapade, they began thinking of a way to insure that there would be no more uprisings in the Massachusetts colony.

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The Boston Massacre; a very devastating tragedy. The British soldiers against the colonists. Where did this feud get America, and who caused it? Undoubtedly, the massacre was a critical key to America’s future. Traditionally, the ones who did the most damage were in the wrong.

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When the shooting ended, several people were dead and more were wounded. ”(Document C). With no freedoms, the colonists felt caged

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The details of this massacre has seemed to be one-sided and it is time to get other point of views from this historical day in history. Most of the time when the details of the Boston Massacre are told, the details talk about the dispute that occurred. However, looking at Paul Revere’s etching, it makes it seem deeper than a dispute. This etching actually portrays what people would think a massacre is. It is clearly noted in the text that Paul Revere was not present when the incident took place (Document 5.8, 156).

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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.”

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They were sent back to England and branded. This especially enraged Bostonians. They were enraged because they thought the soldiers were murders and rotten cowards. Yet in some ways the won by getting the troops out of Boston. There in Boston the seeds of revolution were

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The American Revolution occurred between 1765 and 1783. Colonists in the thirteen american colonies had disagreements with the british monarchy and aristocracy. The American Revolution War was also known as the U.S. War of Independence. During these years Americans went through a series of battles and new laws and rules were set. During the American Revolution there were a lot of long term and short term causes, including economic factors, english political legacy, and foreign policy.

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