The Boston Massacre, according to Foner, was a product of the Townshend Acts in 1767 and other British policies like the Stamp Act of 1765 and the Sugar Act of 1764. The Townshend Acts caused tension by the creation of tariffs on the colonies. The Acts also wanted to suppress smuggling. These conflicts led to a fight between the British and the Bostonians, which escalated into an armed confrontation. This “confrontation” left five Bostonian men dead. One of the five men who died, Crispus Attucks, was a sailor of Indian-African-white ancestry. The commanding officer and eight British soldiers were put on trial for murder in Massachusetts. John Adams defended the British soldiers and commander because he viewed lower-class crowd actions as a dangerous method of opposing British policies. Ultimately, seven of the British men were found not guilty, while two were convicted of manslaughter. Paul Revere, one of the many people who believed this verdict to be unfair, help to stir up the injustice of the British army. The Boston Massacre had many contributing factors such as, the Sugar Act, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Massacre Trials, and Paul Revere that changed the political history of America.
Several years after the French and Indian war, which caused Great Britain to be in a lot of debt, the Prime minister created the Sugar Act of 1764. The Sugar act served as a reduced tax on goods like molasses. This act also established new machinery to suppress widespread smuggling by colonial merchants. According to Foner, the colonist found this tax as an attempt to get them to pay a levied tax, rather than a welcome reduction in taxation. The British believed that the creation of the Sugar Act would strengthen the Navigation Acts, which controlled colonial trade. A year later, Parliament implemented a new policy called the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act was an effort to raise money from the colonies’ direct taxes. Parliament informed the colonist that all printed paper like newspapers, books, and licenses had to have a purchased stamp. This act caused great strife among members who published books and wrote newspapers. Since this act was imposed without colonial consent, the colonists believe it violated their liberty. Soon after, the colonist and merchants came together to boycott British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act. The British, as stated by Foner, was stunned by the ferocity of American resistance and felt pressured by the London merchants, who did not want to lose their American markets. Ultimately, in 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but imposed the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act stated that colonists still be taxed, but by their representatives. Overall, both acts revealed the conflicts between the British and the Americans. These disputes made the colonists more resistant to challenge British authority.
The Townshend Acts of 1767 was another aspect that increased the tension between the British and the colonies of America. According to Foner, the Townshend acts was a government decision in London to impose a new set of taxes. This act had been devised by the cabinet’s chief financial minister, Charles Townshend. In the beginning, Charles Townshend gained the support of the Townshend Acts by some colonists. He earned his support from colonists because they opposed the Stamp Act of 1765, which required a stamp on all printed materials like newspapers, legal documents, and playing cards. The colonists felt that they had no other choice but to obey Britain’s new raised revenue. Gradually, the colonist realized that Townshend’s duties were not in the greater good of the colony. The Bostonians devised a meeting with one another to “consider a petition brought by fellow townsmen. It addresses a key issue raised by the Act—"the excessive use of foreign superfluities"—and the extent to which this has increased the colonists' reliance on to Britain.” The colonists did not have any representation for themselves. So, many colonies decided in 1768, one year after the creation of the Townshend Acts, to place another ban on imported British goods. Boston colonists participated in the ban on imported British goods by developing a boycott. This boycott consisted of many colonists who refused to rely on British products and wanted American homespun clothing to become a symbol of resistance in America. There were women known as the Daughters of Liberty who also joined the boycott. The Daughters of Liberty show their support of the boycott by also not purchasing British goods and by weaving homespun clothing. Eventually, the British came to the realization that their profits had reduced dramatically. In the end, Parliament agreed to repeal the Townshend Acts but continued to place a tax on tea.
As stated in the beginning, the Boston Massacre was a result of the tension between the colonists and the British policies which were implemented to increase taxes. When Parliament would not listen to their verbal protests, the expressions of their discontent became violent. These verbal protests and violence among the British and Bostonians are how the infamous Boston Massacre began. On the evening of March 5, 1770, an eyewitness had seen this “unhappy affair began by some boys and young fellows throwing snowballs at the sentry placed at the Customhouse door.” Ultimately, thousands of angry men gathered to the streets of Boston because they blamed the British for the loss of their jobs. The fight began when one of the Bostonians struck a British troop. The hit of the British troop resulted to one British man taking the first shot at the opposing men. The British men had an advantage during the fight because they had a formidable army and weapons. Unlike the British army, the Bostonians did not have any weaponry. This fight included the use of weapons and even included snowballs. This catastrophe led to the death of five Bostonian men. The names of these men were “Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Maverick, Samuel Gray and James Caldwell.” Crispus Attucks was among the first men to have died during the Massacre. He was of mixed race and was considered a martyr, someone who sacrifices themselves for their beliefs, to colonists. The death of these five men caused an uproar among the Boston colonists. The colonists wanted all British troops to be banished from Boston. This banishment reduced the tension between the Bostonians and the British soldiers. Overall, this massacre became known as the “Bloody Massacre” which sparked a significant influence for the American Revolution.
Since the death of five men, during the Boston Massacre, the colonist believed there was a need for justice. After the massacre “the eight soldiers involved had been handed over to the civil authorities, and Captain Preston had voluntarily surrendered to the sheriff.” Captain Preston and his eight British soldiers were eventually put on trial for murder. The commanding officer and his soldiers were tried separately in the Massachusetts courts, and they were defended by John Adams, the soon to become president of the United States. John Adams defended these men because he believed opposing the British policies was a dangerous act that can result in bad consequences. Both trials took months to prepare and to put forward a verdict for the nine men, including the commander. In Captain Preston’s trial, John Adams was able to get him acquitted because the jury ruled Preston, not guilty. On the other hand, Adams was not able to get all eight soldiers acquitted. Two of the eight soldier were convicted of manslaughter. The verdict of these men was seen to the colonist as unjust, and not everyone agreed with Adams defense of Captain Preston and the soldiers. Today, the Boston Massacre trials, “remain significant primarily for the conflicts of interests… and John Adams's dilemma of how vigorously to prosecute the Boston mob in order to vindicate his clients.”
The Boston Massacre Trials caused much conflict with the colonist in Boston. One colonist, in particular, was Paul Revere. Paul Revere, a Boston-born artisan and political radical, was the leader of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty were radicals who opposed the Stamp Act of 1765 and lead in enforcing the boycott of British goods. Paul Revere also served as a silversmith for the town of Boston. Revere strongly dislike the British army and wanted to show the colonies how distasteful the army can be. So, he decided to show resentment against the British army by engraving a picture of the Boston Massacre. His inaccurate engraving depicts unarmed Bostonians being shot and killed by British soldiers. Revere’s work spread across the thirteen colonies causing him to gain massive support. According to Foner, the engraving became one of the most influential pieces of political propaganda and for the Revolutionary Era. Overall, Paul Revere became a symbolic figure of the American Revolution.
In conclusion, Paul Revere, the Stamp Act and Sugar Act, the Boston Massacre Trials, and the Townshend Acts each contributed to the Boston Massacre and greatly influenced the American Revolution. The Boston Massacre showed the resistance between the Boston colonists and the British army. It also affected other colonies to go against British rule by engaging in boycotts and political propaganda. This massacre was not only a crucial event during the Revolutionary Era, but also paved the way for American independence and freedom.