Warm-up (No Books)
What was the main cause of the American
Revolution?
Explain stamp and sugar act.
The Boston Massacre
March 5, 1770
Boston, Massachusetts, Circa 1770
What we know happened.
A crowd (or mob) of Bostonians
approached and began yell at a group of
seven or eight British soldiers and their
commanding officer, Captain Thomas
Preston.
British soldiers of the time were
nicknamed “Lobsterbacks”
What we know happened.
Preston and his men were coming to the aid
of a lone British Sentry (guard) in front of
the Custom’s House (Seaport Tax Office).
The Boston Custom’s House
What we know happened.
The crowd (or mob) surrounded the group
of soldiers under Captain Preston’s
command.
Captain Preston’s efforts to get the crowd
(or mob) to calm down and disperse (go
home) failed.
What we know happened.
The crowd (or mob) was calling the soldiers
things far worse than “lobsterback”.
The crowd started throwing things.
The crowd started chanting “Fire and be
damned!”
The Boston Mob
What we know happened.
A musket was fired at the crowd (or mob).
This first shot was immediately followed by
more shots.
What we know happened.
The crowd (or mob) quickly went home.
The soldiers and Captain Preston went back
to their barracks (the buildings where
groups of soldiers live).
Five Bostonians were dead or dying.
Grave of the five victims
What we know happened.
People were angry.
Patriots claimed. . . .
A Short Narrative of the Horrid
Massacre in Boston.
Printed by Order of the Town of Boston.
THE HORRID MASSACRE IN
BOSTON, PERPETRATED IN THE
EVENING OF THE FIFTH DAY OF
MARCH, 1770, BY SOLDIERS OF THE
TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT
Paul Revere engraved the event.
Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley
Who is
missing
from the
engraving?
Source:
www.americas
library.gov
Who is missing from the engraving?
Crispus Attucks
This is a mid 1850s depiction of the attack.
Why isn’t Crispus Attucks in the engraving?
Bias?
Racism?
Personal Animosity?
Lack of knowledge?
Another reason.
Questions
Did the soldiers fire with provocation?
Did they fire on their own?
Was Captain Preston guilty of ordering his
men to fire into a crowd of civilians?
Was Preston innocent and being used by
men like Samuel Adams to confirm the oftclaimed tyranny of England?
What happened after the
Boston Massacre?
The soldiers were put on trial.
March 13, 1770
A grand jury indicts Captain Preston
and eight soldiers are indicted for
murder in connection with the
massacre.
Queen Street Courthouse
September 7, 1770
Preston and the soldiers are formally
arraigned on charges of murder. All
plead "Not Guilty."
October 24-30, 1770
Captain Preston is tried. A jury
acquits Preston after the evidence fails
to establish that he gave the order to
fire.
A scene from the Trial
November 27, 1770
The trial of the eight soldiers begins.
December 5, 1770
Six of the soldiers are acquitted on all
charges. Two soldiers, Montgomery
and Killroy are convicted of
manslaugter.
December 14, 1770
Montgomery and Killroy plead "the
benefit of clergy" to reduce their
punishment to branding. Sheriff
Greenleaf brands the two men on their
right thumbs.
The Defense Attorney Speaks
“The part I took in the Defence of Cptn.
Preston and the Soldiers . . . was one of the
best pieces of service I ever rendered my
Country”
“As the evidence was, the verdict of the jury
was exactly right.”
John Adams,
Patriot and our second President