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Explain Why There Was The Boston Massacre Not A Massacre

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On March 5, 1770, a heated argument broke out between many strong-willed colonists and British soldiers, about the different taxes the British were making the colonist fulfill and how unjust the British parliament was. The argument quickly escalated into a fight and then a so-called massacre, soon to be named The Boston Massacre. Although, there was the killing of colonists, should this event be called a ‘massacre’? In fact, only 5 colonists were killed in the shooting, and many claim that the colonists were not innocent therefore the Boston Massacre was not a massacre. The first reason the event was not a massacre is the colonists were not innocent and did harm the soldiers. The colonists threw snowballs at the colonists and beat them with rope clubs. Also by definition, a massacre is the ‘the act or an instance of killing a …show more content…

The number of recorded deaths was 5. A small killing of only 5 people should not be considered a massacre. For example, a real massacre would be the Amritsar Massacre, where thousands of India’s people were peacefully protesting and the government shot hundreds dead. Compared to the Boston Massacre where colonists were harassing and harming the soldiers and were not peacefully protesting. The Boston Massacre was also over exaggerated to convince colonists that British parliament violently murder colonists with an unjust meaning. Which resulted in much propaganda, such as Paul Reevers paints. In his paintings he only shows the soldiers firing at the colonists, and does not include the colonists throwing clubs or snowballs. Paul Revere also over exaggerated the wounds of the colonists to make the battle appear more gruesome, also, he left out wounds that the soldiers received from the colonists. Therefore creating propaganda, and over exaggeration the event to convince that the Boston Massacre was a

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One thing lead to another and in 1770 the troops fired on the crowd as they feared for their lives, 5 colonists were killed and this tragic occurrence became marked down in history as the Boston Massacre. (doc 2) although this occurrence outraged the colonists they still weren’t looking to break away from the crown. However once the tea act was passed colonists were infuriated. A large group of colonists banded together, dressed up as native americans and went on to British ships containing tea and they threw the tea into the Boston harbor.

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The British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre are not guilty in the deaths of five colonists because they acted out of self-defense. According to Newton Prince, “Some of the [colonists] said let’s attack the Main Guard, or the Centinel…” (Newton Prince). If the colonists attacked the soldiers

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John Adams agreed to represent the British soldiers on trial for killing the five civilians. Adams justified defending the soldiers because he was an open-minded gentleman who believed deeply that every person deserves a defense in court, so he took the case right away proving to everyone how serious he was about being right with the law and not by personal emotions. It actually took seven months after the incident known as the Boston Massacre for the start of the trials. When they did begin in October 24, 1770 they lasted until December 5th. The names of the soldiers that were brought in were; Corporal William Wemms, William McCauley, James Hartigan, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, Hugh Montgomery, William Warren and John

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“FIRE, FIRE, DAMN YOU, FIRE! I DARE YOU!” yelled the colonists on the street as they threw snowballs, rocks, shells and clubs at the British soldiers. This was the beginning of what was called the Boston Massacre, it occurred on the night of March 5th, 1770. On this night, five men and boys were killed because of the confusion between the soldiers and the colonists.

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Angry colonists lead to boycotts, rebellions, and revolutions. The colonists boycotted British imports, leading to the king sending more soldiers. As time builds goes along, the tension between the colonists grow immensely. On the infamous day of March 5, 2016, the deadliest snowball fight ever took place, better known as the Boston Massacre. The Boston Massacre is often portrayed as the British soldiers lining up and shooting into a peaceful protest, where in reality, in was not at all a massacre.

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That it was then the responsibility of the colonists to take care of these soldiers though they could barely take care of themselves. Not only did the colonist have to quarter them, but once the soldiers were no longer fighting; they began to steal jobs from the colonists. Considering all of the hostility between the two groups, it inevitably led to the Battle of Golden Hill where British soldiers and colonists in New York rioted and fought. This revealed that the quartering of soldiers created economic and social disturbances (Gilje). There was also the Boston Massacre which occurred on March 5, 1770 that was caused by the loss of jobs.

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The colonists continued to protest the Townshend acts, so the governor asked Great Britain to send soldiers to the colonies. Great Britain had sent soldiers to the colonies to tighten their control on them. One of the violent protests was the Boston Massacre. In this event, an officer, gathering a group, struck a colonist. This group provoked the officers, leading to the death of five colonists.

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Mia Bassett 9/24/17 Period 3 Boston Massacre Notes since 1767 people had been rioting against British taxation Sugar Act (1764) Stamp Act (1765) Townshend Act (1767) People thought Britain shouldn’t tax the colonies because they could not elect representatives for parliament. people thought only Massachusetts Assembly could tax people (representatives were elected every year) riots and attacks against tax officials were common in 1768 troops were sent to Boston to protect government officials against mob attacks Quartering Act of 1765 required the colonies to house british soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies people felt imposed on people boycotted products affected by the townshend act a group of people gathered to demonstrate in

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A brutal slaughter of people for a minor action of anger? The Boston Massacre inspired and motivated the colonists to take a stand against the British to protect their rights. How can you blame them for wanting to break away from a system that kills their “own

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Was the Boston Massacre Really a Massacre? One of the most common things talked about in the history of the U.S.A. is the Boston Massacre, but was this historical event commonly looked at as a massacre really a massacre. I believe that the Boston Massacre was not a massacre at all instead it was just the act of self defense of a few british soldiers that were being attacked by upset colonists. One of the most said things about the Boston Massacre is that the british soldiers fired into a crowd of innocent people, but there is many pieces of proof that says otherwise.

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The incident ignited the already simmering tensions between the British authorities and the American colonists, and it became a rallying cry for those who sought to end British rule and gain independence. The Boston Massacre is seen as a precursor to the American Revolution, which culminated in the United States’ independence from Britain. On the evening of March 5, a group of colonists confronted a British sentinel, who called for backup. British soldiers soon arrived and found themselves surrounded by a hostile crowd of colonists, who hurled insults, snowballs, and stones at them. In the chaos, the soldiers panicked and fired their muskets into the crowd, killing five

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232 Words | 1 Pages

According to the article, Preston has tried to avoid unnessesary conflict between the colonist and his troops. He wanted everyone to leave in peace. However, one of Preston’s soldier did not obey his command and started to fire at the mobs. As the result, Preston is responsible for death in the Boston Massacre. Preston’s indecisive actions have indirectly led to the uprising of Colonies.

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Although there are many reasons why the American Revolution started, a few of them had a larger consequence. First, the Boston Massacre had a major impact on the American Revolution. To continue, another instigator to the colonists seeking their independence was the Boston Tea Party. Lastly, The Battles of Lexington and Concord really pushed towards the American Revolution. Let us begin with how the Boston Massacre had a significant impact on the American Revolution.

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735 Words | 3 Pages

The events of the Boston Massacre are recorded as a group of British soldiers firing upon a large group of colonists, killing three people on sight, one expired after the event, three were badly wounded, and four were slightly wounded totaling 11 civilians being shot. With multiple individuals such as Captain Thomas Preston, and Theodore Bliss claiming there were at least 100 people, as well as Peter Cunningham accounting 30-40 citizens gathered at the customs house. All three of these individuals were reliable in their depositions. Bliss and Cunningham were uninvolved in the act, both were bystanders to the situation.

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The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a “patriot”. They were throwing sticks, snowballs, and trash at a group of British troops. The loyalists got very annoyed with the patriots so they shot into the mob killing five. The riot began when around 50 colonists attacked a British sentinel. A British officer called in for additional troops

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