Primary Sources of Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre- March, 5, 1770
Part One: Document | Author | Date | Purpose | Biases | The Legal Papers of John Adams, No. 64, Rex v Wemms | John Adams | 1755-1784 | To record what he heard and saw during the trial and how he defended for the British soldiers. | Despite the fact that most eyewitnesses’ testimonies denounced Captain Thomas Pretson ordering his men to fire upon the citizens, he believed these people were biased and words aren’t 100% reliable. | Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre March 5 1770 | Unknown | Unknown | To briefly explain what caused the people to rise up against the soldiers and how reluctant the citizens were. | He did not feel that the patriots were any faulty of the soldiers’ fire. He felt unfairly treated and thought the soldiers pushed way too far by abusing the locals with their power. | The Account of The Boston Massacre | The Boston Gazette and Country Journal | March 12, 1770 | Reporting what happened on the day of massacre on the newspaper for locals to read. | The article described the scenario as a massacre due to the anger of some upset British troops who felt being insulted. It obviously accused Captain Preston. | The Bloody Massacre (Photo) | Paul Revere | 1770 | His painting depicted what happened on the day of March 5th 1770. | He exaggerated the scenario by painting the soldiers in cruelty that aimed into the innocent helpless unarmed white men. Truth is, the main victims in the massacre were black and they were throwing snowballs at the soldiers. He wanted to make it look as angry as it could be to make the audience think it as a deliberate murder. | Captain Thomas Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre | Captain Thomas Preston | October 24, 1770 | To explain about what he perceived on March 5th and to swear he never intended for anyone to get hurt nor did he order the troops to fire. | He believed the townspeople were all mad and tried to bring up a riot to prevent themselves from being punished for
Part One: Document | Author | Date | Purpose | Biases | The Legal Papers of John Adams, No. 64, Rex v Wemms | John Adams | 1755-1784 | To record what he heard and saw during the trial and how he defended for the British soldiers. | Despite the fact that most eyewitnesses’ testimonies denounced Captain Thomas Pretson ordering his men to fire upon the citizens, he believed these people were biased and words aren’t 100% reliable. | Anonymous account of the Boston Massacre March 5 1770 | Unknown | Unknown | To briefly explain what caused the people to rise up against the soldiers and how reluctant the citizens were. | He did not feel that the patriots were any faulty of the soldiers’ fire. He felt unfairly treated and thought the soldiers pushed way too far by abusing the locals with their power. | The Account of The Boston Massacre | The Boston Gazette and Country Journal | March 12, 1770 | Reporting what happened on the day of massacre on the newspaper for locals to read. | The article described the scenario as a massacre due to the anger of some upset British troops who felt being insulted. It obviously accused Captain Preston. | The Bloody Massacre (Photo) | Paul Revere | 1770 | His painting depicted what happened on the day of March 5th 1770. | He exaggerated the scenario by painting the soldiers in cruelty that aimed into the innocent helpless unarmed white men. Truth is, the main victims in the massacre were black and they were throwing snowballs at the soldiers. He wanted to make it look as angry as it could be to make the audience think it as a deliberate murder. | Captain Thomas Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre | Captain Thomas Preston | October 24, 1770 | To explain about what he perceived on March 5th and to swear he never intended for anyone to get hurt nor did he order the troops to fire. | He believed the townspeople were all mad and tried to bring up a riot to prevent themselves from being punished for
Cited: newspaper account. The Public Schools of North Carolina. 12 March 1970. Web. 19 Feb. 2013