Comparing The Boston Massacre And The Boston Tea Party

Our topic is the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party, both of which took place in Boston Massachusetts and were two of many grievances that escalated the tension between the colonists and the British.

The Boston Massacre occurred March 5th in the year 1770. British troops were already in Massachusetts since 1768 to help enforce the Townshend Acts and tensions had been rising. The Townshend Acts was a tax of common goods (paper, glass, tea) imposed by the British government on the colonists. The colonists despised the ‘Redcoats’ and consistently taunted them by spitting, name-calling and fighting. It began with a disagreement between Private White (British) and a wigmaker’s apprentice (American); however the crowd increased quickly when Private White struck the apprentice.

The Americans screamed at the soldiers to ‘Fire and be Damned’ and kept goading the British by throwing rocks at them. Eventually, the British Army opened fire, which led to the deaths of 5 American civilians (including Crispus Attucks) and 6 injured civilians. Governor Hutchison had Captain Preston arrested the next morning. It was then discussed at Faneuil Hall (the meeting spot for the Patriots) what to do with the arrestees. On March 28th the trials began, and eventually Preston, 8 soldiers and 4 civilians were acquitted, except for two soldiers. John Adams defended Preston and helped ‘Reasonable Doubt’ become a defense with this quote: “[w]here you are doubtful never act: that is, if you doubt of the prisoner’s guilt, never declare him guilty; that is always the rule, especially in cases of life.” The term ‘Boston Massacre’ was actually the propagandized term assigned by the Patriot leaders (Samuel Adams and Paul Revere), while the British titled this event as the ‘Incident on King Street’;