This Day in History: The Boston Massacre
This Day in History:
The Boston Massacre March 5, 1770 A skirmish in front of the Boston Custom house
between British soldiers and angry colonists
ends in bloody violence after the troops
open fire on the crowd. Three Americans were
killed instantly and several other
men eventually died from their injuries. The incident followed
several years of tensions and
violence in colonial Massachusetts, partly due to revenue duties
imposed on the colonists by
the British Parliament
passed Townshed Acts. The violence turned colonial sentiment
against the British and King George in
the years leading up to the American Revolution. John Adams wrote that the
"foundation of American
independence was laid"
by the massacre.
The Boston Massacre March 5, 1770 A skirmish in front of the Boston Custom house
between British soldiers and angry colonists
ends in bloody violence after the troops
open fire on the crowd. Three Americans were
killed instantly and several other
men eventually died from their injuries. The incident followed
several years of tensions and
violence in colonial Massachusetts, partly due to revenue duties
imposed on the colonists by
the British Parliament
passed Townshed Acts. The violence turned colonial sentiment
against the British and King George in
the years leading up to the American Revolution. John Adams wrote that the
"foundation of American
independence was laid"
by the massacre.