The Boston Massacre: Before and After
by
Josh Criddlebaugh
_ _ The Boston Massacre was not the only cause of the Revolutionary War. There were many events before and after that also contributed to the start of this war. They were the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Act, Quartering Act, Tea Act, the Boston Tea Party, and Coercive Acts. One of the first taxes put on the colonies by Britain was the Sugar Act.
_ _ The Sugar Act of 1764 was to raise money to help Parliament run the colonies. This act put a tax on goods such as molasses, coffee, and sugar. It also required shippers to have a detailed outline of their cargoes. Smugglers could also be tried in admiralty courts. If convicted, the offenders lost both the cargo and the ship that carried it. Most colonists believed they should only be taxed by a government they had elected. They did not like this taxation without representation. The Stamp Act was then passed to help raise money to run the colonies.
_ _ The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament in March 1765. This Act taxed the use of printed materials such as deeds, marriage licenses, advertisements, newspapers, diplomas, customs documents and even playing cards. Many colonial assemblies were against this taxation and wrote petitions demanding the repeal of this act. The first open resistance were riots caused by the Sons of Liberty who believed in action rather than talk. So, Parliament repealed this Act and then passed the Declaratory Act
_ _ The Declaratory Act was a statement of power. It said the colonists were under the control of Parliament and they could pass any law they wanted. This Act did not settle the issue of taxation without representation. When the Stamp Act was repealed, the colonists ignored the Declaratory Act. They still did not accept the idea that Parliament was to be superior to them. The Townshend Acts were the next taxes to be levied on the colonists.
_ _ The Townshend Acts of 1767 taxed imported goods such as glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea. Colonists used these items every day, but they were not made in the colonies. Townshend appointed a Board of Customs Commissioners and tried very hard to collect the taxes. However, these commissioners were crooked and trapped merchants by allowing minor things to go unpunished for a while. Then, when the merchants were used to doing business this way, the commissioners cracked down on them. They also brought false charges against shippers for smuggling. The colonists responded by organizing a boycott. So, in order to enforce the Townshend Acts the Quartering Act was passed.
_ _ The Quartering Act was a difficult law for the colonists to accept. It required them to support British soldiers stationed in the colonies to enforce the many tax laws. The colonists had to take the soldiers into their homes and provide them with food and lodging. In Boston and other cities, the colonists resented these unwelcome guests. This resentment led directly to the Boston Massacre.
_ _ The Boston Massacre took place on the evening of March 5, 1770. It had two sides to it, the colonists side and the British side. The colonists said the people were out for a Sunday stroll when British Captain Thomas Preston gave the order to fire outside the British Customs house and killing many innocent people. The British side told a much different story. Their story began when a boy from Boston, Edward Garrick, taunted British Private Hugh White. White got angry and knocked Garrick down with the end of his musket when he threw a snowball at him. About this same time, another dispute between several soldiers in the same regiment and people passing by caused Captain Preston to order the soldiers back to their barracks. Later, the angry colonists started throwing snowballs at Private White again, and Garrick cried, "There's the one that knocked me down." Then the crowd shouted, "Kill him!" Private White loaded his gun and called for help. Captain Preston and eight soldiers came running to help. Then Private Hugh Montgomery was hit in the head by a thrown club. When he got back on his feet he took aim at the crowd. They cried, "Fire if you dare" (Garrity 57)! Suddenly, the soldiers fired their muskets into the crowd, killing three men and wounding many others. Two other men died later from their wounds.
_ _ Crispus Attucks, a member of the Sons of Liberty, was one of the first to die. Samuel Gray and James Caldwell were also killed instantly. Samuel Maverick, mortally wounded, died the next morning and Patrick Carr also mortally wounded, died on the March 14. Edward Payne, a merchant, John Green, Robert Patterson and David Parker were also wounded (Anonymous 3). Captain Preston said later, "... the soldiers must now take care of themselves, nor trust too much to their arms, for they were but a handful; that the inhabitants carried weapons concealed under their clothes, and would destroy them in a moment, if they pleased" (Preston 1). This significant event was important because it provided the rebellious colonists with powerful anti-British propaganda. The Tea Act was the next tax put on the colonists and led to the Boston Tea Party.
_ _ In 1773, the Tea Act was passed to help the East India Company that had 17 million pounds of unsold tea stored in English warehouses. This Act authorized the East India company to sell directly to the colonies. Lord North thought the colonies would approve because it made the cost of tea cheaper. However, most colonists did not like this because Parliament had given the East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade in the colonies and they might give other monopolies to the company or other favored group. So, this Act led to the public protest known as the Boston Tea Party.
_ _ When ships containing British East India tea arrived, protests by colonists increased. In South Carolina, an angry crowd gathered and persuaded the company agent to resign. The tea was stored in a warehouse, but it could not be sold. In New York and Philadelphia, public anger was so strong the captains did not even unload their ships. They just sailed back to England. However, the Governor of Massachusetts thought the British had the right to tax the colonies. For two weeks tensions mounted in Boston. So, on the night of December 16, 1773, colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians snuck aboard the Dartmouth, Eleanor, and Beaver and threw the tea overboard as more colonists cheered from the docks. Parliament then passed a series of laws known as the Coercive Acts to force the colonists to pay for the tea.
_ _ The Coercive Acts were the worst of all the acts put on the colonies. These Acts said that no ship could enter or leave the Boston Harbor until the tea was paid for. These Acts also said British officials and soldiers would be tried outside of Massachusetts. It also gave the Massachusetts governor more power because he was allowed to control town meetings. Colonists were also ordered to house British solders in their homes. However, the British found that instead of punishing the colonists, these Acts caused the colonists to unite even more strongly.
_ _ The Boston Massacre was not the only cause of the Revolutionary War. The Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, Townshend Act, Quartering Act, Tea Act, the Boston Tea Party, and the Coercive Acts were all part of a giant "snowball" rolling downhill that started the American Revolutionary War.
Works Cited
Anonymous. Anonymous Acount of the Boston Massacre:
_ _ http://www.federalistdigest.com/boston.htm
Anonymous. Captain Thomas Preston's Account of the Boston Massacre:
_ _ http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1751-1775/bostonmassacre/pres.htm
Anonymous. The Boston Massacre: http://www.tiac.net/users/amerins/mass.htm
Cameron, F. Boston Massacre: http://hana.asij.ac.jp/elementary/links/currlink/5-m/cameronf.htm
Francis, Russell. Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. Mahaw, NJ: Troll Associates, 1963.
Garraty, John. American History. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
Garraty, John. American History. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
Garraty, John. The Story Of America. Austin, TX: Rinehart and Winston, 1994.
McDowell, Bart. The Revolutionary War. Washington,DC: National Geographics Society, 1967.
Muzzey, David. The american People. Boston, MA: Ginn and Company, 1927.
Morrison, Alex. The Cause of the Revolutionary War: http://www.ctbw.com/amorris.htm
We
have made every reasonable attempt to insure that our web pages are
educationally sound and do not contain links to any questionable material or
anything that can be deemed in violation of the DSD Acceptable Use Policy.
This page is maintained according to the DSD Internet Publishing Guidelines
by FFJH Webmasters.
©1998 Josh Criddlebaugh - All rights reserved.
Last update: 12/19/98 *<%^)