The Loyalists And Patriots : The Causes Of The Boston Massacre

After analyzing the video about the Boston Massacre, what it should be called depends all on which side you took. Patriots would have took this as a massacre because, not only would it blame the British, but their people were also considered "slaughtered". Thus, to the Patriots, this would be considered a massacre. However, for the Loyalists and British, this would be considered a riot. A crowd of colonists threw snowballs, stones, oyster shells, and even wood at British soldiers. This was basically a disturbance of peace, or a riot. The soldiers had the right of defending themselves, so I do understand the reasons for shooting, but killing wasn't necessary. In the end however, in my opinion, without being biased to any sides, the Boston Massacre should be considered a riot.

On the evening of March 5, 1770, with a foot of snow on the ground, groups of Bostonians gathered around the Custom House on King Street. Some had buckets of water, after responding to a fire alarm. Others had clubs to defend themselves or perhaps to threaten the despised “lobsterbacks.” Private Hugh White was, in fact, being threatened by several wigmakers’ apprentices (Aron 24). When Captain Thomas Preston heard of Private White’s situation, he came with seven other soldiers to help. Words escalated into snowballs and stones, and the soldiers began to fight back with the butts of their guns. The crowd of Bostonians was growing and now numbered about 100 (24). Then, a huge chunk of ice came flying in from the mob and knocked

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.     

Similar to the way that the colonial and British perspectives greatly varied for the Boston Massacre, their opinions are once again vastly different for the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this event as well, both parties attempt to place the blame on the other which is not unusual due the nature of the sources. However, this highlights the large amount of bias evident in all of the accounts. For the colonial perspective, there are two statements, each from a member of a colonial militia that fought during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Both of these sources place the blame on the British soldiers and claim that the British fired first, killing several colonists. One account, from the Battle of North Bridge, claims that the colonists were ordered to hold their fire and that they didn’t fire until the British opened fire upon them. The other account, from soldier who fought during the skirmish at the Lexington Green, states that the colonists did not even get a single shot off, at least not before the soldier whose account this is was wounded. This source also claims that the British commanding officers were yelling at and insulting the colonists as their ranks closed on the milita. Both these sources are very similar to the colonial perspectives of the Boston Massacre because they all place the blame on the British soldiers and attempt to make themselves appear as the victims.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines massacre as “the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty” or “a cruel or wanton murder” (m-w.com). Essentially a massacre results in either the death of many people or death by cruel means. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, in Boston, Massachusetts and involved American colonists and British troops. The colonists, upset by recent laws enacted by the British, taunted a smaller group of British soldiers by throwing snowballs at them (Boston Massacre Historical Society). In response, the soldiers fired upon the unarmed colonists leaving five people dead and six wounded (Phelan, 131). Even

Before America was America people fought a war where theoretically they should not have won. After the war ended, they came out victors, but at the price of losing thousands of men. “We are fallen into the most unhappy times, when even innocence itself is nowhere safe!” (Boston Gazette, February 1770). This excerpt shows that the people in the colonies were angry and wanted change. There was sufficient cause for the American colonists to take up arms and rebel against the British government because people have the right to privacy, and Britain was not giving it to them.

All the dispute between American colonist and the government of United kingdom take place when King George III send his military to America to control the agony created by the American colonist. This move of ruling government was quite unacceptable for American colonist as they consider it quite uneasy situation for me (Neil L. York). This step enhances the resentment in local people, and they start showing their hate to the government and military of the ruling country. With the passage of time, the situation becomes worse for the government to maintain law and order situation in the colony of America. Ultimately all these small events of hate for the ruling government leads the situation towards the Boston Massacre.

During the late 1700s conflict arose between the greatest power in the world known as Great Britain and the colonies of America. The conflict that occurred is well known today as the Revolutionary War. While a lot of people see the Revolutionary War as America united together while fighting for freedom from the British government there were those in America who sought to stay loyal to the crown. As with any conflict, there are always two sides of the coin. Loyalists saw separation from England as a toxic idea that would only cause war and a reduction in wealth of America’s people while Revolutionists saw the need for freedom from all oppression, treachery and unfair taxation.

Did the majority support the Patriots. What might have prompted Americans to become Loyalists? What was the atmosphere like in colonial communities as the war began? The

The Boston Massacre was an important event in U.S. history, that lead to the American

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

It was a bloody scene.Starting from the name itself, this landmark event of the American Revolution proved to be a magnet for popular myths and misconceptions.It was not called the “The Boston Massacre” until many years after it occurred in 1773. The first popular name popularized by Paul Revere was The Bloody Massacre in King Street. In the early 1800's it was also called the State Street Massacre.

Five years before the beginning of the American Revolution, five men were killed by British soldiers that had been stationed in Boston to discourage rebellion against the Townshed acts. The British and loyalists blamed the entire event on the people of Boston for harassing the soldiers. In their view, the soldiers had acted in self defense. American colonists, on the other hand, blamed the soldiers and used the event to show the dangerous consequences of having a standing army.1 Radicals saw the Boston Massacre as an opportunity to gain people on the patriot side by exploiting the British soldiers with the use of propaganda.

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.

The newspaper was made so that the people could know what was happening around their community. Propaganda was very popular with the colonists even though most of the content that was printed in the newspaper was not always true. Even though it was not like by the government the colonists like the newspapers. The newspaper would show dramatize images to get the colonists to buy their newspaper just as patriot Paul Revere did for the printing of the Boston Massacre. He showed and exaggerated image of what had happened at the Boston Massacre.