Boston Massacre Effects

The American Revolution was undoubtedly one of the best examples in American history to show the ability of a nation’s people grouping up together to rise and defeat an insufficient government. When a government, like the British at time, fails to care for its people and take advantage of them, colonists will become impatient and anxious for their rights. At the time, without a doubt, the American Revolution was flared by a chain of events in the colonies. One of the most damaging events was the ‘Boston Massacre’, caused by the continued tension between the government and colonists in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, leading to five unarmed colonists death. The effects of the ‘Boston Massacre’ on the colonies were devastating, and hearing …show more content…
The Captain then spoke distinctly, “Fire, Fire!” I was then within four feet of Capt. Preston, and know him well. The soldiers fired as fast as they could one after another. I saw the mulatto [Crispus Attucks] fall…. after struggling, turned himself right round upon his heel and fell dead”(alphahistory.com).
Charles Hobby described in this quote that it was the idea of the Boston citizens to throw snowballs at the soldiers, showing their discontent towards the British government. When the snow ball hit a grenadier, things went south and soon afterwards, the captain of the soldiers, Preston ordered them to fire on the citizens leaving a bloody mess. We can see that the issue being addressed in the quote is that it is the British soldiers fault that they fired at the unarmed citizens just because there were snowballs being thrown at them. The colonists, as they got to know the story better and when they found out that it was the soldiers who were to blame, it greatly angered them and was a key motivation point for the American Revolution. It was the British soldiers fault that the shooting “massacre” occurred, and sooner or later the idea is that this kind of …show more content…
They were a secret group of people of mostly merchants and lawyers who wanted their freedom and a better nation. The name ‘Boston Massacre’ was bought up and spread all over the nation. They exaggerated the truth at some stages hoping to extend their beliefs about the British government. They wanted to push for freedom and strengthen the nation. Sons of Liberty member Paul Revere did an engraving of the Boston Massacre (gilderlehrman.org). From this engraving, we can see that Paul Revere is trying the show the cruel reality of the Boston Massacre and ‘what actually happened’. The idea behind the engraving is ultimately attempting to demonstrate that it was the British soldiers fault shooting the innocent and unarmed colonists. This sort of picture enraged the other colonists who weren’t at the scene. It gives an idea what the situation was like and was more likely to support anything that was in the favor against the British government. Now we know that it isn’t a real depiction of the event, but no doubt it is one of the most effective pieces of war propaganda leading towards the American Revolution.This depiction of the aggressive soldiers paved the way for the colonies to