Significance Of The Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was an event which occurred on the fifth of March, Seventeen -

Seventy. Prior to the shooting the British government imposed on the colonies a heavy series of taxes, such as the Stamp Act. Where, “the stamps required to conduct business legally are locked away, and officials debate whether ports and courts should close or remain open.

Colonists groan under the burden of the Stamp Act's restrictions and the fear of disobeying it.”1The goal of these taxes was to pay off the Crown’s war debts, though resistance emerged from merchants and the wealthy gentry. To enforce the taxes the British sent the military, the presence of soldiers heightened tensions in the colonies. This culminated in the night of the

Boston Massacre,

“John Adams, Robert Auchmuty Jr., and Josiah Quincy Jr. are retained to defend Preston and his men,” 2 in a trial where they were found guilty. The events of the riot where utilized as a justification for the colonists to launch the War for Independence.

The first perspective that was generated regarding the events of the Boston Massacre was that the British soldiers purposely attacked the colonists. With the oppression of the colonists being part of a concerted effort by the British to receive taxes. “The military forces were to be largely increased so as to completely overawe and subjugate the people, particularly in and around Boston.” 3 First hand sources believe given that Boston as a prominent shipping hub and

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4. Fredric Kidder & John Adams, History of the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770 Consisting of the Narrative of the Town, the Trial of the Soldiers and a Historical Introduction, Containing

Unpublished Documents of John Adams, and Explanatory Notes. (Albany, N.Y: Joel Munsell,

1870), 8 5. Peter Messer, “A scene of Villainy acted by a dirty Banditti, as must astonish the Public”:

Due to the impartial view of the British and the desire of the colonists to remove the British the massacre was the perfect event to propagandize, resulting in war and restoration of power with the upper class.

The issue of perspective as it pertains to the Boston Massacre is the key point to consider how an individual should view it. The name of the event even gives it an inflated nature calling it a “massacre” when only five people died. While the soldiers were declared guilty, consideration must be given to the fact that they were tried in Boston. With the recency of

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events and publication of the soldiers’ names it is reasonable to believe that an impartial jury could not have been composed. While a valiant effort was taken by Adams to defend the soldiers they were in a losing battle against an angry populace. It is reasonable to assume that the merchants and gentry who had lost control of their wealth through taxation were eager to have the British removed and their sovereignty restored. All those factors considered the story more likely than not was utilized to justify going to