Why was the Boston Massacre important?

The Boston Massacre was a confrontation between Colonists and British soldiers.  On March 5, 1770, a collection of Colonists from different narratives gathered around the Customs House in Boston.  There were words exchanged, reflective of the hostility between Colonists and the British.  The group of Colonists began to throw bottles and snowballs at the growing number of British soldiers.  In turn, the British soldiers opened fire on the Colonists.  While it was not really a "massacre" in terms of slaughter, the event highlighted the emerging schism between Colonists and the British.

The Boston Massacre was significant on a couple of levels. Right or wrong, it helped to fill an unenviable narrative for the British.  The news of the Boston Massacre which was spread throughout the Colonies by Sam Adams' Committees of Correspondence.  This depiction recounted the event as the slaughter of innocents by a heartless British garrison.  It helped to enhance the growing calls for separation, or at the very least, reexamination of the relationship between the British and the Colonists.  The disproportionate use of force also fed this narrative.  The Colonists had bottles and snowballs.  The British used ammunition and weaponry that was not a proportionate response to the situation.  Additionally, the Boston Massacre was significant because it helped to galvanize a certain section of Colonial society against the British. From this point on, the confrontation between both sides would be more antagonistic, and less likely to be solved through discourse and peaceable means.  The growing discontent with the various acts passed against the Colonists became even more rancorous as news of the Boston Massacre spread, helping to enhance its significance in the steps leading to the American Revolution.

How did the Boston Massacre contribute to the American Revolution?

The Boston Massacre contributed to the start of the American Revolution. The colonists had been unhappy with previous British actions. They didn’t like that the Proclamation of 1763 that prevented them from moving west of the Appalachian Mountains. The colonists wanted to get this new land, and this law prevented that from happening. The colonists also didn’t like that they had to provide housing for soldiers to enforce this unpopular law.

The colonists were also unhappy with the new taxes created by the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. They believed these taxes were illegal and violated their rights as British citizens because the colonists had no representatives in Parliament who could vote on these taxes. In Britain, the citizens have representatives in Parliament that can vote on proposed taxes.

While the colonists were unhappy with these British actions, there had been no death associated with the protests of these unpopular laws. That changed with the Boston Massacre. For the first time, the British had killed colonists during a protest. For some people, this changed the dynamics of the dispute. There were now some people who believed independence was needed. As more actions unfolded in the future, more and more people felt this way. With the passage of the Intolerable Acts and the fighting that occurred at Lexington and Concord, more colonists believed independence was needed. The desire for independence gained support as a result of the Boston Massacre. It really gained support with actions that occurred in the years that followed the Boston Massacre.

What was the Boston Massacre and why was it important?

There were two additional important results of the "massacre" and the trial.  First, because the defense of the soldiers was led by John Adams, one of the most important members of the revolutionary movement, it became obvious to both the British and the American colonists that the rule of law was more important than one's political beliefs.  Adams, who interviewed dozens of witnesses, proved that the crowd initiated the violence and that the soldiers believed their lives were in danger.  Even though Adams was relentlessly criticized by many colonials for his defense of the British soldiers, the British--and even many pro-revolution Americans--understood that Adams' loyalty was to the law rather than his own politics.  Second, Adams' defense indicated that some of Boston's leading citizens were implicated in inciting others to violence, which was a capital crime under British law--that is, these people were guilty of treason and could be executed if proven guilty.  In short, the leaders who were advocating violence understood they could be accused of treason.   Among other things, Adams uncovered a significant amount of sympathy among Americans for the British and against the revolutionary movement.   When the leading members of the revolutionary movement realized the extent of American sentiment against rebellion, they realized that the time was not ripe for a physical break with Great Britain, and they took steps to moderate the violence they had encouraged before the massacre.  

What was the Boston Massacre and why was it important?

The Boston Massacre was an incident in Boston, Massachusetts in 1770 in which 5 American colonists were killed by British soldiers.  It was hugely important as a subject of propaganda for the Americans who were pushing for more independence from Britain.

Since late 1768, British soldiers had been in Boston to keep the peace.  Soldiers in those days were not very well-disciplined and were often likely to treat civilians poorly.  They were also poorly-paid and competed with civilians for jobs that they tried to work while not on duty.  Finally, the civilians were also required to house and feed the soldiers.  All of this meant that there was a lot of hatred between the two sides.

In March of 1770, an incident erupted between soldiers and civilians.  Civilians started doing things like throwing rocks, ice, and snow at the soldiers.  The soldiers shot into the crowd.  Three civilians were killed outright and two died later of their wounds.

The “massacre” was very important because of how well the American patriots used it.  They portrayed it as an unprovoked massacre of innocent civilians.  This helped turn many American colonists against the British.  Thus, the massacre was an important incident that helped lead more Americans to desire independence from Britain.

What was the significance of the Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre was a very significant event. On March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd gathered outside of the Custom house in Boston. After the shooting stopped, five colonists were dead.

This event was significant for a number of reasons. First, it had shown how the relationship between the British and colonists had deteriorated, especially in Massachusetts. Once blood was shed, for some people this changed the course of the struggle. Prior to this event, the colonists and the British had their differences, but nobody was killed over these differences. That now changed.

A second reason why this was significant is that the British repealed all of the Townshend Acts taxes except for the tax on tea. To some people, keeping the tax on tea was seen as a way for the British to let the colonists know the British were still in charge. While people were glad most of the Townshend Acts taxes were removed, people were still concerned about where events might be headed. The Committees of Correspondence also reorganized and became more active after the Boston Massacre occurred.

As events would unfold, the situation deteriorated further over the years. Eventually, the Revolutionary War began.

What was the  importance of the Boston Massacre?  

On March 5th, 1770, five men in Boston were killed by gunfire, with many others wounded. A group of men were heckling some British Army soldiers sent to try and keep colonial tensions under control- many people in Boston were upset with the taxes on imported goods imposed by the British Parliament. Prior to the shooting, a group of men gathered to shout insults and throw snowballs at some of the soldiers, who opened fire in their anger.

The Boston Massacre, as we now know it, was a turning point in the American Revolution. An engraving by Paul Revere, depicting the scene of colonists being shot by a line of British soldiers, quickly became the popular image of the event. It painted (figuratively) the British as violent and unjust rulers overlords who sought to exploit the colonists for monetary gain. Both the event and engraving of the Boston Massacre played a part in inspiring colonists to rise up against British rule in favor of American independence.