Boston+Massacre

In Boston there were many protests against the British soldiers. On March 5, 1770 one protest became out of hand which is known as the Boston Massacre. There are different versions told of this event and no one is positive about which story is true. One story says that earlier in the day, off-duty soldiers and colonists were provoking each other, which carried out through the day. Then the arguments were directed to the British soldier guarding the Customs House in Boston. The soldier called for help and Captain Thomas Preston came along with other soldiers. This is when verbal abuse changed into physical abuse. The colonists began to throw ice and rocks at the soldiers, when a soldier was hit in the head. This is when the redcoats began to fire, and three citizens were immediately killed, eight others were injured in which two died from their injuries. Another version of this event is that a British soldier became angry while the colonists were protesting and as a result, hit a man in the head with the butt of his rifle. Then a greater crowd of colonists assembled and they dared the soldiers to fire at them and colonists threw ice at the soldiers. Then a church bell rang in a false fire alarm. A soldier was then pushed to the ground, and the other soldiers began to fire, killing five men and injuring six. One of the first men who died included Crisupus Attucks, a free African American slave who was the first to fall. These two stories share similarities and differences. These stories are different in that the first version was told by the British to make the colonists seem abusive and threatening, while the second story is the one the citizens used to try to make the British soldiers seem out of control. These are the events of the Boston Massacre. By: Shannon P. || || media type="file" key="v4.wma" width="300" height="300" || The Boston Massacre was the result of the tension between British soldiers and the colonists. Ever since the British soldiers had arrived in the colonies, they were not liked by colonists, and military tension was building up. The quartering acts, which forced colonists to let British soldiers stay in their houses, and the Townsend acts, which were a series of taxes emposed by the British, just added to the tension. There were many protests between the colonists and the British soldier,s but nothing that caused many people to unite against the British. Finally, on March fifth the tension broke, and resulted in the Boston massacre, which is also commonly known as the first spark of the revolution. || || media type="file" key="1.wma" width="300" height="300" || The colonists had a negative reaction to the events of the Boston Massacre. They were extremely angry because they thought that the British soldiers had acted without order to shoot at the colonists. The governor of Boston tried to calm things down by holding a trial against the soldiers. The colonists were yet again still livid because out of the nine soldiers involved in the massacre, only two were punished. The two soldiers, who were punished, were let off with only being branded on the hand. The colonists reacted with anger, and people like Paul Revere who did not like the British took advantage of this, and used the Boston Massacre to fuel dislike against the British and their soldiers. Since the Boston Massacre, the colonies became more united by sending letters and people to communicate within the colonies. They also wanted to separate from the British because of their cruelty represented in this event. These are the reactions that the colonists had because of the Boston Massacre. By: Shannon P. || || media type="file" key="v4.wma" width="300" height="300" || The Boston massacre negatively affected the British. After the event took place and five were dead, their death was pinned on the nine soldiers involved in the inccident. Colonists looked at them cruely because they were believed to have shot without order. The colonists united because of their hatred toward the British, and British soldiers were hated even more than they had before the event. Many of the colonists who were not already boycotting British goods soon started after the Boston massacre becausenthey were mad at the British. The British’s economy weakened greatly as a result of the boycott, and the British were one step towards giving the colonists independence. || || media type="file" key="2.wma" width="300" height="300" || The colonists felt like the soldier’s punishment resulting from the Boston massacre wasn’t good enough. They became united in their new found hatred against the British. The colonists felt that it was important to stay united throughout the colonies as well. Therefore the colonists started the Committee of Correspondence. This committee was created to keep the colonies informed of the British actions. The Committee discussed the flaws of the British government and when the British enforced new laws that the colonists disliked, the Committee of Correspondence spread alarm. The Committee of Correspondence caused unity between the colonies and became an influence to the colonists’ reactions to the British. Colonists stayed communicated throughout the colonies by writing letters about the events that were happening in each colony. Eventually, the group felt very powerful and the idea of independence from Britain excited and inspired them. || [] || media type="file" key="GOOD1 HISTORY.wma" width="300" height="300" || There were different effects that followed the Boston Massacre. Initially there was a brief calm and things went back to normal including some trade between Britain and the colonies. The effects that followed also included the Boston Tea Party Act and the American Revolution. In England, the British put pressure on Parliament to repeal all taxes. The taxes were repealed in England but information of the repealed taxes did not reach the colonies. All taxes were repealed in America except the Tea Act. This resulted in a feud regarding the expensive and excessive taxes on an everyday need in America. The colonists grew furious with the British and planned to sink British ships that carried tea. This led to the Boston Tea Party. Also, Britain’s tight leash on the colonists inspired them to revolt and eventually have a war for freedom. This war was known as The American Revolution. All of these events followed the Boston Massacre. ||  || media type="file" key="GOOD2 HISTORY.wma" width="300" height="300" ||
 * __What is the Boston Massacre?__
 * __Why was it created?__
 * __What was the Colonists Reaction?__
 * __How did their reaction affected the British?__
 * __How did the colonists reaction affect themselves?__
 * __What followed this event?__

Bigelow, Barbara, Stacy A McConnell, and Linda Schmittroth. American Revolution Reference Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .
 * __Shannon's Bibliography:__

"Boston Massacre." American History. ABC-CLIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. .

Davidson, James West, Dr. America, History of Our Nation. N.p.: Pearson Education Inc., 2011. Print. ||  || Works Cited =====Bigelow, Barbara, Linds Shmittroth, and Stacy A. McConnell, eds. //On the Brink of War//. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. .=====
 * =====Caroline's Bibliogrophy=====

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Pugliese, Barbara M., and Virginia H. Smith. “The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5th 1770 by a Party of the 29th Regiment.” //The Massachusetts Historical Society//. Massachusetts Historical Society and Museum of Fine Arts, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .=====

Juliette's Bibliography

Works Cited //America History Of Our Nation//. United States: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.

"Boston Massacre." American History. ABC-CLIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. . ||  ||   ||