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. Most of which was provided by colonists themselves. There was even a male slave that took part in the fight and said that the colonists and himself had clubs and other things …show more content…
In Document one it shows british warships taking over the harbour. To the colonists eyes this appears as a threat. In Document three it shows a picture of british soldiers shooting into a crowd of innocent people. In Document four it talks about how the soldiers assaulted and beat innocent people in the streets. This was written in the town of Boston which makes sense considering that most of the town was against the british being in boston. In Document six it talks about how the british were harassing and beating innocent people, this document again was posted in a Boston newspaper. All of the documents that support that the british soldiers attacked the innocent colonists are all the same. They all were written about in Boston newspapers, which were at the time very biased towards the colonists. So overall I believe that the british soldiers were attacked by the colonists. This caused the british soldiers to fight back in self defense. There also seems to be more liable evidence supporting that the colonists attacked the soldiers. There were many different accounts of what happened. Means that they are all telling the truth about what they saw. So overall I believe that the Soldiers were innocent and did not want to kill colonists, that makes the Boston Massacre not a massacre at all just a act of self
John Adams was born on October 30, 1735, in Braintree, Massachusetts. His mother, Susanna Boylston Adams, was a successor of the Boylstons of Brookline, a protruding family in colonial Massachusetts. His father John Adams Sr. was a town councilman, a Congregationalist, and a farmer. When he was 16 he received a studentship to Harvard university, he advanced in 1775 at the age of 20. He was awarded his master’s degree in 1758, he studied law in the office.
Edward Buckley here reporting live from Boston where a massacre has just outbroke. British troops were sent in to maintain order of the colonist. The colonist didn't seem to be too happy about that. Large groups of angry colonist came together and began taunting the British soldiers. Along with the taunting, the colonist began throwing snowballs and showing hostile actions towards the British soldiers.
I believe that the British soldiers were using self defense in the Boston Massacre. Through witnesses and evidence, it is proved that the British killing the colonists was an act of defending themselves. In exhibit A, the crime scene showed how the colonists threw snowballs filled with rocks and sharp things at the British. I think that the British were only firing their guns back at the colonists to save themselves from being badly hurt. I believe that the British fired their guns at the colonists back without intentions go kill, but only to protect themselves.
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
In addition to swearing on their words, we also know that this excerpt was a testimony and most likely took place in a courtroom and in front of three Justices of the Peace. The colonists knew consequences of exaggerating the truth, therefore it would be unreasonable to lie about what happened “While our backs were turned on the British Troops, we were fired on by therm, and a number of our men were killed and wounded”. Again, this was written just six days after the battle, and in front of three Justices of the Peace.
As a witness to The Boston Massacre as a Patriot as an English citizen, I believe that the British Soldiers are unstable to protect us if they will kill us. The acts that lead up to the killing of five patriots were downgrading us. After are Victory in the French and Indian War we became in debt. The British officials decided to make laws such as Writs of Assistance, Sugar Act, Quartering Act, Stamp Act and the Proclamation of 1763 and more were soon made. This just anger us so a boycott was made called The Sons of Liberty the leader was Samuel Adams.
The Boston Massacre was not called ‘The Boston Massacre’ at first. The original name, was in fact the ‘State Street Massacre’. Another name they had called it was the ‘Bloody Massacre on King Street,’ and Paul Revere was the one who had originally called it the ‘Bloody Massacre on King Street.’ Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott all played a major role in The Boston Massacre. Paul Revere went down in History as the one to ride his horse around the Boston and warn people the British were coming.
Both had even heard that the army intended to murder the colonists rebelling. Even Captain Preston’s testimony stated that the soldiers had fired 4 times before the mob of colonists disappeared. Implements from their profession and snowballs with rocks inside were the colonists’ weapons in the Boston Massacre.
The British fought to defend themselves. They had no intentions of getting back at the colonists for their misdeeds. The colonists should also be held accountable for the first shot, because the British didn 't plan ahead to specifically target the colonists. Though, the Colonists purposely targeted the British. I believe
In this event, the British soldiers clearly felt threatened and the colonists were instigating trying to pick a fight with them. Another reason that proves that the British are innocent is that Captain Preston was standing in front of his soldiers. In addition, there was a misfire which led to the start of the soldiers to shoot. They also fired because they believed that Captain
This Act made colonies very angry. They react with a boycott. Now watching live from just block away of the ground breaking event The Boston Massacre. Now flying in from Boston is their troops coming in to maintain order to the colonists. British officer walking over to a group of boycotting Colonials.
The evidence, from the 7 eyewitnesses, support that the colonists were the aggressors during the fateful evening of March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre. Some cited evidence proves it. Number one, “I saw the people throw snowballs at the soldiers and saw a stick 3 feet long strike a soldier upon the right” (Theodore Bliss). In other terms they were assaulting the soldiers with pieces of snow or ice at them, afterward they hit one of them with a 3 foot club. This shows that the soldiers didn’t shoot to murder, they shot in self-defense.
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.
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
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.