The Boston Massacre and how it helped start the Revolutionary War. Includes a bibliography.

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THE BOSTON MASSACRE

Five years before the start of the Revolutionary War a small event called the Boston Massacre helped spark a start to the American Revolution.

On a sunny day in early March 1770, a large group of colonists gathered around a square in Boston. They were revolting against the Townshend Acts (named after Charles Townshend, the acts put tax on imported goods) and the British Parliament. Angered by the British troops, the colonists started throwing rocks and small snowballs at the troops. One of the officers ran to get reinforcements while the troops crouched in a defensive position. When the crowd grew closer, the British troops fired and killed three men: Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, and James Caldwell on the spot. Two other men: Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr died later and many suffered brutal wounds, yet survived. During the victims' funeral, there was a patriotic demonstration by Samuel Adams.

After the Funeral there was a trial for the British troops and their Captain, Thomas Preston. They were tried for murder and two men were found guilty. The Captain and six other men were acquitted and walked away with impunity.

Word of the Boston massacre spread through the colonies like wildfire. Many patriots placed posters and signs alerting people of what the British had done. Almost everyone in Boston saw Paul Revere's engraving depicting the fight and this outraged many colonists. Stronger boycotts soon led Britain to nullify all of the Townshend acts except the Tea Act. This was just one of the many patriotic events that forced the colonists into war with the strongest empire in the world. If there had been no fight we may not have had a war. Without the war we would still be under British rule and our lives would be very...