The Boston Massacre
In a show of force after the Liberty riot, British troops arrived in Boston in October 1768. Most Bostonians resented their presence. The legislature refused to house or feed the soldiers. As a result, the troops were housed anywhere in the city their officers could find lodging for them, increasing the possibilities for friction. To supplement their meager wages, some soldiers found part-time jobs in the town, taking work away from less well-off locals.
Altercations between citizens and soldiers became a feature of life in Boston. In January 1770, a party of soldiers cut down a liberty pole. A few days later, the Sons of Liberty took action to stop soldiers from posting notices in town. The result was a “battle” on Golden Hill in which Bostonians armed with clubs and swords fought thirty to forty redcoats wielding bayonets. A number of men were badly hurt, but no one died.
Liberty poles were erected in American town squares as symbols of opposition to British policy from the time of the Stamp Act through the opening of the American Revolution. Flying a red banner from the top called a meeting to organize resistance to the government.
Incidents between Bostonians and the soldiers multiplied. Working-class men hurt by the economic dislocations of recent years were enthusiastic participants in these confrontations. Events took a tragic turn on March 5, 1770. A group of men and boys led by an African American seaman named Crispus Attucks threatened a sentry stationed near the State House. The sentry was reinforced by a small detachment led by Captain Thomas Preston. The mob surged forward, pelting the soldiers with snowballs. Frightened, the troops fired into the crowd, killing Attucks and four others and wounding six more.
A Shocked AftermathThe atmosphere in Boston became poisonous. Samuel Adams voiced the general demand that the British troops leave the town. Acting governor Thomas Hutchinson withdrew them to Castle William. Captain Preston and eight of his men were charged with murder.
As a matter of principle, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, both ardent opponents of British policy, agreed to lead the defense of the accused British soldiers. They believed that the cause of justice was more important than courting popularity.
In October, a Boston jury acquitted Preston and six others. Two soldiers received nominal penalties for manslaughter. The legal postscript to the Boston Massacre was a tribute to the fair-mindedness of the Bostonians. But nothing could obliterate the memory of the King's troops shooting down citizens in the streets. An important line had been crossed. The ties of tradition and loyalty that bound the colonies to Britain were loosening.
