Haileigh S.

                       Introduction

The Boston Massacre was a tragic event that happened on March 5, 1770. On this day many people gathered in the streets wanting to fight the British soldiers because of the way that the soldiers were treating the colonists. People threw rocks, chunks of ice, and snowballs, too. If you were part of this horrible event then all you wanted to do at that point was just fight anybody. All you wanted was freedom. Many people had to suffer the fact that family members were either killed or injured in the worst way at the worst time too. In this article you will learn all the details about this horrible time.  

This is Paul Revere's famous engraving of the Boston Massacre. The engraving shows soldiers firing at a peaceful crowd, though that isn't exactly what happened.

                    What Caused the Boston Massacre?

       What did cause the Boston Massacre? Well now you can find out. The one main cause was called the stamp act. In 1765 parliament passed a new tax law. The act said that colonists would have to pay a tax on printed papers. To prove that the tax was paid, almost every piece of paper would have to show a large, blue, stamp. EVERYTHING was taxed! This made the colonists very angry. They didn't want to pay the money, especially because it went to the British government. Some colonists refused to buy stamps. Some protested in the streets and town squares. And some even tried to scare of tax collectors and at times attacking them and their homes. In several colonies merchants soon started agreeing not to buy British goods. And all this is exactly what caused the Boston Massacre. All of the colonists were just so mad that they just wanted to fight the British troops and that is exactly what they did. Some got what they wanted, not to pay the taxes anymore, and others didn’t exactly get what they wanted. Many people had to suffer losing a family member in the worst way. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be in such a horrible situation like this. This was the one main cause of the Boston Massacre. 

                    What Was the Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre was a tragic event that happened on March 5th 1770. Pretty much all of the colonists showed their hatred for the soldiers by making fun of there red coats. They called them names like “lobsterback”. And some soldiers went out of there way to bother local citizens. Before long, name-calling and fist fights in the streets were common. So then it was a bitterly cold night, and a soldier was standing guard in front of the customs house (a building were taxes are collected). Sometime before nine o’clock, a crowd began to gather. Some of the people in the crowd threw stones and snowballs. Captain Thomas Preston and seven other soldiers hurried to the guards side. They loaded there guns and stood in front of the angry crowd. The crowd insulted the soldiers and continued to throw chunks of ice and many more things. Nobody is sure exactly what happened next. Afterward Captain Preston told his soldiers not to fire their guns. But one soldier said that he heard the word fire, so he shot his gun. After that the crowd began to panic. Within moments 5 people lay dead or dying. Six more wounded. And after that everything stopped. The event itself was over but still not for many other people who still had to suffer it. 

     Results and Consequences of the Boston Massacre

       Well now that you know what happened during the Boston Massacre, you probably want to know what happened after it. Well, now you know, again. So after all the fighting happened the colonists named this event the Boston Massacre. (A massacre is the murder of people who cannot defend themselves). A silversmith named Paul Revere pictured the event in an engraving. (You can see a picture of the engraving in the introduction). Samuel Adams, a leader of protests against the British, made sure that news of the Massacre spread throughout the Colonies. The Boston Massacre was also a cause of the Boston Tea party that happened in December 1773. Seven months after the Massacre captain Preston was tried for murder in a Boston courtroom. He was defended by John Adams and Robert Auchmuty and assisted by Josiah Quincy Jr. Soon after the Massacre Paul Revere created an engraving. The engraving read, “on the death of five young Men who were Murdered on March 5th 1770 by the 29th regiment”. He made this to remind colonists of the tragedy of the Boston Massacre. 

                              Conclusion

Well, hope you learned a lot from this article and now know a lot about the Boston Massacre of 1770, and know much more not just about the Boston Massacre. And remember it was pretty much all a mistake. When the officer said not to fire the guns soldiers just heard the word fire and shot their guns anyway. I mean that wasn't the entire reason there were still many other causes of the Massacre but this was the main reason that most of the people died. And just think, the Boston Massacre was just a street fight that became so popular yet it was just a fight. You know know what the causes were of the Boston Massacre, what the Boston Massacre was, and what the results and consequences were from the Boston Massacre.