What Was The Boston Massacre And Why Did It Happen?
The Boston Massacre is one of those events in U.S. history that, like the similarly-named Boston Tea Party or the Battle of Gettysburg, most Americans only understand in the outline, if at all, now that we aren’t expecting a pop quiz about it next week.The March 5, 1770 confrontation was a key moment in the leadup to the Revolutionary War, a sort of microcosm of simmering tensions between the American colonists and their British enforcers. The colonists used the event as a rallying cry for independence, while the British pointed to it as evidence that the colonists were an incorrigible bunch who needed more discipline.
Some 250 years later, the specific outline of events remains in dispute. Further, whether the colonists were innocent victims or the aggressors, or both or neither, is also a topic of continuing discussion by students of history.
Here is the truth of the Boston Massacre.
Who is to blame for the Boston Massacre?
By March of 1770, tensions between the American colonists and their British governors were boiling to the surface, particularly in the port city of Boston, according to History. Even as the colonists complained of being taxed without being given representation, the British sent a heavy contingent of troops — 2,000 of them — to keep peace in the city. Sometimes, there were violent altercations between the two sides. Vandalism of property belonging to loyalists was not uncommon, nor were brawls between colonists and soldiers.
On the evening of March 5, a lone British soldier — Private Hugh White — was stationed at the city’s Custom House, when he was surrounded by angry colonists who verbally abused him. Eventually, White struck a colonist with the butt of his weapon, enraging the crowd further. White called out for backup, and more soldiers took up defensive positions. Meanwhile, the colonists continued to pelt the soldiers with clubs and sticks.
What happened next remains unclear, two and a half centuries later. Did a British commander give the order to shoot? Did a soldier slip on the icy ground and accidentally fire his weapon? Regardless of what escalated things, shots soon rang out. When all was said and done, a number of colonists were dead, and more were wounded.
Why was the Boston Massacre important?
To certain independence-minded colonists, such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere, the Boston Massacre was an example of British oppressors shamelessly murdering unarmed civilians. At least, that’s how they presented it to other colonists, according to History, hoping to stir up anti-British sentiment that would eventually lead to independence.
“Let all America join in one common prayer to heaven that the inhuman, unprovoked murders of the fifth of March, 1770, planned by [a British commander], and a knot of treacherous knaves in Boston, and executed by the cruel hand of [another British commander] and his sanguinary coadjutors, may ever stand in history without a parallel,” Hancock would later say, via Revolutionary War and Beyond.
Indeed, the Boston Massacre did lead to American independence, albeit indirectly. It would be six more years before the Continental Congress would convene in Philadelphia to hammer out the Declaration of Independence, which itself took place almost a year after the Revolutionary War started. In the time between the Boston Massacre and the Declaration of Independence, however, were other events, such as the Boston Tea Party, that today exist within the long chain of events that led up to America finally being freed from British rule in 1783.
How many people died in the Boston Massacre?
According to Hobart Public Schools, five people, all colonists, died in the Boston Massacre. Rope maker Samuel Gray and James Caldwell, a mate on a colonial ship, were among those killed instantly. Samuel Maverick, a teenager, died of his injuries the next morning, and Patrick Carr held on for two more weeks before he died.
In addition to the five deaths, six colonists were also injured. One of them, according to Revolutionary Characters, was Christopher Monk, who lived with the injuries he sustained in the Massacre for a decade, before ultimately dying of them.
Perhaps the most famous of the deaths at the Boston Massacre was that of Crispus Attucks, the fifth man who died at the scene. According to the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, Attucks, a Black laborer — he may or may not have been a free or escaped slave — was the first to die in the attack, taking two bullets to the chest.
A century after Attucks’ death, as the Civil War was raging, Black abolitionist William Nell honored his forebearer, as Black Past reported: “Ninety-two years ago this day, Crispus Attucks, a colored man … of his intelligent free will, bore that foremost part in the scene on State Street … which should never be forgotten by any American patriot,” Nell said in 1862.
28 thoughts on “What Was The Boston Massacre And Why Did It Happen?”
Leave a Reply
How John D. Rockefeller Avoided Civil War Combat
The Untold Truth Of Walt Whitman
The Surprising Reason Scientists Think Humpback Whales May Be Altruistic
This Was Joaquin Phoenix's Experience In The Children Of God Cult
What You Didn't Know About The Duran Duran Board Game
This Is What Happened To The Original Occupants Of Las Vegas
The One Victim Who Got Away From Bobby Joe Long
Here's How Much Trump Has Spent On Facebook Ads
The Sad Death Of John DeLorean
The Truth About The Royal Vault At St. George's Chapel
of course like your web-site however you need to check the
spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I
find it very troublesome to inform the truth however I’ll certainly
come again again.
my page http://ivistroy.ru/
Thank you for some other informative site. The place else may I am getting that kind of info written in such
an ideal manner? I have a project that I am
simply now running on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.
my web-site: sadovnikinfo.ru
Howdy this is kinda of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors
or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone
with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
My website … лазерное удаление пигментации на лице
It’s going to be finish of mine day, however before end I am reading this wonderful article to increase my experience.
Here is my web page: увеличение губ
Hey there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and
starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!
My web site Гостиничные чеки в Москве
I read this paragraph fully about the resemblance of newest and preceding technologies,
it’s remarkable article.
Check out my site: увеличение губ
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after
going through some of the articles I realized it’s
new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly delighted I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking
it and checking back often!
Feel free to surf to my web-site http://nastroyke-info.ru/
We are a gaggle of volunteers and opening a brand new scheme in our community.
Your website offered us with helpful info to work on. You have done a formidable job
and our whole group can be thankful to you.
Check out my page: https://nakrutka-prosmotrov-yappy-pr2.online/
Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anywhere, when i read this post
i thought i could also create comment due to this brilliant paragraph.
Here is my web-site – https://nakrutka-prosmotrov-yappy-pr2.ru/
Thanks , I have recently been searching for information approximately this topic for a while and yours is the
best I’ve came upon so far. But, what concerning the conclusion? Are
you certain in regards to the supply?
Here is my website; кариес зубов лечение
What’s up, its nice paragraph about media print,
we all understand media is a fantastic source of information.
Also visit my webpage: лечение кариеса
After going over a handful of the articles on your web page, I honestly appreciate your way of blogging.
I book-marked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking
back soon. Please check out my web site too and tell me what
you think.
Here is my homepage … монтаж кондиционера Минск
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your blog?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with
it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2 images.
Maybe you could space it out better?
My blog post :: http://infocars24.ru/
Hello it’s me, I am also visiting this website regularly, this web site is in fact pleasant and the viewers are truly sharing
fastidious thoughts.
my web-site – установка кондиционера в Минске
I always used to study post in news papers but now as I am a user of net so from now I am using net for posts, thanks to web.
My blog post … Гостиничные чеки купить в Москве
It’s awesome to go to see this site and reading the views
of all friends on the topic of this piece of writing,
while I am also zealous of getting knowledge.
Feel free to surf to my page :: http://yes-cars.ru/
When someone writes an paragraph he/she keeps the thought of a user in his/her brain that how a user can understand it.
Therefore that’s why this article is great. Thanks!
My webpage … карта мира из дерева на стену купить
Ahaa, its fastidious discussion about this paragraph at this
place at this web site, I have read all that, so at this time me also commenting here.
Here is my blog … карта мира из дерева на стену купить
Yes! Finally something about .
Here is my web page … карта мира из дерева
My programmer is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on a variety of
websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform.
I have heard very good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I
can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help
would be greatly appreciated!
Here is my webpage карта мира из дерева на стену купить
Wonderful beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how
could i subscribe for a blog website? The account aided me a acceptable deal.
I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea
Also visit my web site – карта мира из дерева на стену купить
Hey very nice blog!
Stop by my page :: http://hitmind.ru/
Terrific article! This is the kind of info that are supposed to be shared around the web.
Shame on the search engines for now not positioning this put up higher!
Come on over and talk over with my site . Thanks =)
Feel free to surf to my page – хранение вещей минск
What’s up to all, how is all, I think every one is
getting more from this web site, and your views are good for new visitors.
Also visit my blog хранение бытовой техники на складе
Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a
collection of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the
same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!
Check out my blog – снять место для хранения вещей
Inspiring quest there. What happened after? Good luck!
Feel free to visit my web site … хранение техники
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing problems with your blog.
It looks like some of the written text on your posts are running off the screen. Can somebody else please
provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them
as well? This might be a issue with my web browser because
I’ve had this happen previously. Appreciate it
Here is my web page … http://masakra.ru/
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for
Also visit my web site; http://mydwg.ru/