Boston Massacre Analysis

Throughout history, a multitude of nations have intended to resolve their differences and conflicts with their ruling bodies, but ultimately resorted to a revolution in order to make the changes they sought to become a reality. A prime example of this was the American Revolution during the late eighteenth century. In the 1760’s and leading into the 1770’s, many colonists agreed that the British were neglecting the complaints of the colonies and generally failing to satisfy the needs of the colonists. As a result, peace was attempted and many compromises and appeals were submitted to Britain, but to no avail. Ultimately, the colonists resorted to separating from Britain and declaring America an independent nation. Therefore, there was a shift
One example of this was the Boston Massacre, as included in Document 2. The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770, and it was widely used as propaganda in order to increase feelings of independence throughout the colonies. Eleven civilians were killed or wounded by British soldiers after they had been provoked and fired their guns on a crowd. The Sons of Liberty, and organization formed to protect the rights of the colonists and fight taxation by the British government, especially spread the word of the massacre throughout the colonies, and grossly exaggerated the event in order to sway the colonists towards a separatist agenda. The woodcut by Paul Revere shown in Document 2 has often been criticized for being overly dramatic and exaggerated. In fact, John Adams, an important activist for the separation of America from Britain, defended the soldiers that fired on the crowd in Boston, and justified their reaction by stating that they were provoked and protecting themselves. Secondly, the First Continental Congress of 1774 was extremely important in triggering the American Revolution. After the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, in which the Sons of Liberty smashed chests of tea open and dumped them in the harbor in response to a tea tax imposed by Britain, the Intolerable Acts (1774) were passed by Parliament. The acts aimed to punish Boston, and the harbor was closed in addition to the Massachusetts charter being revoked. The First Continental Congress reacted quickly to the Intolerable Acts, and the congress urged colonies to organize militias for defensive purposes, as well as urging the citizens not to pay taxes. According to Document 4, the Declaration of Rights and Grievances drafted by the First Continental Congress stated that, “To the grievous acts and measures, Americans cannot submit, but in hopes that their fellow subjects in Great Britain