The Booston Massacre: Causes Of The Boston Tea Party

The American Revolution is fraught with many causes that lead the Americans to desire independence, which they saw as crucial and necessary. While people desired independence, prior to seventeen seventy-five, it was a minority, as most people wanted peace between the motherland and her country. Concerns rose, however, from events, such as the Boston Tea Party in which the Sons of Liberty threw thousands of pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. The reason for this was the Americans were protesting unfair taxation as Parliament was ordering them to pay taxes, even though they had no representation in the British government. In addition to the Boston Tea Party, there is Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Common Sense, in which he informs the masses that the …show more content…
The Boston Massacre was on the fifth of March seventeen- seventy, where sentry Hugh White was standing outside of the House of Commons. Colonist, Edward Garrick, saw him and attacked by, “ insulting private White, saying among other things, that his company commander was a cheat and did not pay him for a wig” (N.A. Hardly a Massacre- British View, www.boston massacre.net). When Garrick started making a scene, a crowd drew in. Captain Preston of the British army came and tried to appease the mob, but to no avail. Reinforcements were sent and one of them, Hugh Montgomery, was attacked by a club. More clubs were thrown and the first shot that caused a mortal wound was fired when Soldier private Matthew Killroy shot the mob attacker, Samuel Grey. “ More shots were fired and more people fell to the ground” (N.A. Hardly a Massacre- British View, www.boston massacre.net). While some of the men died later, four more lives were lost after Samuel Grey. Later in the year, the trial was set and Captain Preston and six of the eight soldiers were acquitted of murder. Two of the soldiers, Matthew Killroy and Hugh Montgomery were charged with manslaughter, a murder by means of carelessness, but not