The Boston Massacre
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………...1
Important Events Leading to the Boston Massacre……..2
The Day of the Boston Massacre……………………….3
The Colonists are angry: The aftermath…………………4
Conclusion……………………………………………....5
Glossary and timeline………...…………………………6
Introduction
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Do you know how many people died during the Boston Massacre? What effects did the quartering act have on the Boston Massacre? Where did the Boston Massacre happen? These are only some of the many interesting facts that you will learn about in this book. You will learn about some of the important events that led up to the massacre and that angered the colonists, Like the Quartering Act and the Stamp Act.You will also learn about the day of the Boston Massacre and how it was started. Lastly, you will learn about the effects that the Boston Massacre had on the people. According to alpha history, Samuel Adams said this about the Boston Massacre. “Americans should only fight the British if all else fails. The Boston Massacre shows that Americans would need to fight if they wanted their freedom.” Even though the Boston Massacre was only one day, it has left its mark in colonial times.
Chapter One
Important events leading to the Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was not a planned event like many of the other battles during the American Revolution. It was an accident. In this chapter you will learn a little bit about some of the important events that led up to the horrific day of the Boston Massacre and what effect they had on the massacre.
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King George III
One of the things that angered the colonists before the Boston Massacre was when King George III became king. He became king in 1760 and while he was king many of the acts were passed by Parliament that made the colonists angry, Like the Stamp Act or the Quartering Act. Most of the colonists did not like king George III because he was making many of the the laws that angered them. It could be that more tension was growing between Britain and the colonies when king George III became king because of all these acts that were being made.
The Stamp Act
Quartering Act
Another important event that led up to the Boston Massacre was the quartering act. This event was probably the most important event leading to the Boston Massacre. This was a law that said that if a british soldier came to their house than they had to provide them with food, gas, candles and any other supplies that the soldiers request. It was called the quartering act because another name for a house was “Quarters.” Britain created this act because they were stationing the soldiers near the colonies homes to protect them and they believed that they colonists should pay for the soldiers protecting them from the native indians.The colonist really did not like the soldiers coming into their house. This was another reason why the colonists started taunted the soldiers in front of the tax collecting building, because they were mad at the soldiers for coming into their homes.
Chapter Two
The Day of the Boston Massacre
Did you know that the Boston Massacre was also called “the Bloody Massacre” and “the incident on King Street”? The Boston Massacre was a horrible event that Happened on a cold snowy day in March.The Boston Massacre happened on the south side of Boston in the Massachusetts Bay colony on the end of King street.In this chapter you will learn about the day of the Boston Massacre and What Happened.
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It was a cold snowy day in March and a small group of colonists were walking down king street in Boston which is located in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It began with a small argument between the colonists and a soldier in front of a tax collecting building , the Custom House. Because that the colonists were still angry about the soldiers coming into their home, eating their food and taking their supplies and the taxes that they were paying Britain to pay their debts, they started to taunt the soldier. Then, a crowd of colonists started to gather and started to throw things at the soldier.
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A few moments later, Captain Thomas Preston saw the argument and sent some more soldiers over to stop the argument, but just provoked more outrage. Soon, there was a crowd of about 50 colonists. They were throwing more rocks and snow at the Soldiers and calling them names like “Lobsterbacks”. Then, a thrown object from the crowed hit Private Hugh Montgomery, the first soldier who had been there, and knocked him down. He got up and started the fire his musket at the crowd of colonists. When the other soldiers heard the one soldier fire their gun, they started to fire too. confused about why the other soldiers started to fire when they saw the other soldier fire. It could be that they thought that there was danger when they saw him fire, or that they thought that Captain Thomas Preston ordered them to fire and they hadn’t heard.
3 people died immediately and 2 later from wounds. Those 5 people were Samuel Grey, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick,who was seventeen years old and the youngest person to die in the Boston Massacre, Patrick Carr, and Crispus Attucks who was a slave who escaped and followed Samuel Adams to fight for freedom. Crispus Attucks was also the first person to be killed in the Boston Massacre. Also, six other people were injured during the Boston Massacre, but did not die.
The Boston Massacre was also called the incident on King street because it happened on King street. Paul Revere, a famous silversmith, made an engraving of the Boston Massacre. It’s titled “The bloody Massacre perpetrated in King street in Boston.” The engraving also showed Captain Thomas Preston ordering his soldiers to fire, which he never did. He makes the British soldiers look like the “bad guys” but if you think about it, the colonists started it.
Chapter 3
The Colonists are angry: the aftermath
“Let this sad tale of death never be told without a tear: let every parent tell the shameful story to his listening children, till tears of pity glisten in their eyes, or boiling passion shakes their tender frames.” This is a quote from John Adams the Boston Massacre.The Boston massacre had a huge effect on the colonists and other people. It made then even more angry at Britain because they killed colonists. In this Chapter you will learn about what happened after the Boston Massacre and what effects the Boston Massacre had on the colonies and Britain.
After the Boston Massacre,All british troops were removed.The colonists were very angry at Britain. The Boston Massacre changed the way the colonists thought about Britain. 13 people were arrested. There were eight soldiers, one officer, and four civilians. The soldiers were charged for murder. They were put in Jail until their trial.
The Boston Massacre had a huge effect on life in the colonies and Britain. There were a lot of new acts that were passed by Parliament and that got the colonists were even more angry.Also, Paul Revere’s engraving made it look as if the British were bad people, and lots of people who didn’t see the actual Boston Massacre thought that’s how it actually went and got angry at Britain for killing those people.
Another thing that happened after the Boston Massacre was the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party started with a new act that was created by parliament In 1773. This act taxed the colonists on the tea that they bought. It also only let them buy tea from one company, the British East India Tea company. The colonists did not like this because they felt controlled by Britain. As a protest, the sons of liberty, a group of patriots who protest against Britain, dressed up as Indians (Native Americans) and climbed up onto a ship which held over 90,000 pounds of tea. They dumped all the 90,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor.
Conclusion
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The Boston Massacre played a very crucial role in colonial times and created a big impact on the people and the country.The Boston Massacre was not the only important event that created tension between Britain and the colonies, there were many other important events that affected the behavior of the colonists that started the Boston Massacre. In addition to this, the Boston Massacre might have only seemed like a small argument, but it
turned out to be a very important event in history and the first true act of violence that angered the colonists. Not only were there important
events before the Boston Massacre, but there were also many important events that happened after, and were caused by the Boston Massacre.The Boston Massacre led up to other important events that led up to the american revolution, so perhaps if the Boston Massacre had not happened, than the rest of colonial times would be different. How do you think history would be different?
Glossary
Massacre a killing of people who Colonist(s) person(s) who settle in
Can not defend themselves colonies
Parliament The british law making Act A law that is created by parliament
group.(similar to the continental congress)
Debt(s) something, typically money, Musket a gun that is similar to a
that is owed or due rifle
Timeline
King George III The Boston Massacre
Became King Took Place in 1770
↓ ↓
↑ ↑
The stamp act The Boston
and the quartering Tea party took
act were created place in 1773
