Mob for a Massacre

In 1758 when the British had just finished the French and Indian War, they controlled a vast majority of the Americas, which were called The British Colonies. Eventually these colonies would rebel against the crown. Why did they do this? The unfair taxation without representation started it all, as it led to the Boston massacre, which ultimately led to the well-known trial of the soldiers.

In 1654 there were thirteen colonies in North America, which were all governed by Britain. The colonies were free thinking. When King George started taxing the colonists to help lift the debt of the French and Indian War, the colonists boycotted items such as tea and clothes that were imported from Britain, as they declared that Britain had no right to tax them. Sending four thousand soldiers over to the colonies, King George, who planned to settle the little American rebellion with force, figured it would be easy to settle the boycott. Immediately the colonists protested because there was a job shortage because soldiers worked extra job when off-duty for less pay than the colonists. The colonists often jeered at the officers, called them names, and violently threw things like stones at them.

As the king taxed them more, the people rebelled against him, which led to the king sending more soldiers to the colonies. On March snow had fallen and it was a chilly night. Seeing an officer being jeered at by a wig-maker’s apprentice, Private White came to his aid and smacked the boy in the head. Loudly crying and running away, the boy brought back ten angry men. Rounding up the soldiers, Captain Preston came to White’s aid. The soldiers were not allowed to fire without the permission of a civil magistrate so they stood together, surrounded by what was now a violently-angry mob, while they were called names and things were thrown at them. During the confusion, one of the solders heard someone shout, “FIRE!” and automatically assuming it was Captain Preston, he fired. Quickly picking up his lead, the other soldiers also started shooting, which led to six people getting killed and the rest of the crowd dispersing.

Immediately the next morning, Captain Preston and his men were thrown in a rat-infested jail. Demanding justice, Boston and the other colonies were in uproar. The date of the trial was set, but they could not find a lawyer for Preston. As the trial grew closer, a lawyer could not be found until John Adams, a patriot, decided that the soldiers still deserved a fair trial. He received much ridicule for this. At the end of the trial, Captain Preston and six of his eight men were found “not guilty,” while the other two guilty soldiers were branded and then also set free.

Eventually the events of the taxation, the Boston Massacre, as it came to be called, and the trial of the soldiers all led up to the American Revolution. Although it is called the Boston Massacre, it was not actually a massacre. Under a barrage from the mob, the soldiers could fire because they were allowed to protect themselves if threatened. It has been said that the angry mob, which was out of control, was asking for a massacre from the soldiers.