The Boston Massacre
Background on the Boston Massacre On October 1, 1768 British soldiers arrived in Boston, MA to maintain order and enforce the taxes the colonists were asked to pay after the French and Indian War What are some examples of these taxes? What famous phrase is associated with how some colonists felt about these taxes? What does this phrase mean?
Background on the Boston Massacre Continued The people of Boston resented the British soldiers and considered them a foreign presence due to the fact that these colonists no longer felt allegiance to the King of England Some colonists taunted the British soldiers and prevented them from carrying on their duties, which was mainly to enforce the taxes just discussed
Background on the Boston Massacre Continued On March 5, 1770 the 29 th Regiment came to the relief of British soldiers on duty outside the Customs House The Regiment was met by an unruly gang of colonists It was dark, and the crowd of colonists began to throw snowballs, ice balls and anything else lying on the street at the soldiers The crowd also taunted the soldiers by yelling and calling them names
Background on the Boston Massacre Continued Captain Preston, who was the captain of the British regiment, could not control the crowd of colonists as they taunted the soldiers He ordered his troops “Don’t fire!” but with the commotion the troops fired and killed three men instantly; another two died later The first man to die was Crispus Attucks
Background on the Boston Massacre Recap Why did the British soldiers come to Boston, MA? What were some of the colonists reactions to their presence? Who can briefly summarize what happened on March 5, 1770?
The Boston Massacre
Reflection/Discussion How is Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre misleading? How is this engraving an example of propaganda? How might this form of propaganda have contributed to the feelings of some of the colonists at the time? What might some of these feelings have been? Is this engraving a primary or secondary source?