Did you ever have to deal with a bully? If you did, then you know that a bully can make life hard. Your parents or teachers might tell you that it's good to ignore the bully and 'turn the other cheek,' but sometimes a bully can make you so mad that you want to fight back. That's what happened in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1770, and the result was a terrible event that's remembered as the Boston Massacre. The word massacre is a term used to describe a mass killing of innocent people.
The Boston Massacre was a fight that broke out in 1770 in Boston, Massachusetts, that ended with British soldiers killing five American colonists. This was an important event in American history because it united the colonists against Britain, which would have eventually led to the Revolutionary War, which was the war that won America its independence from Britain.
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You might be wondering why Britain and America were fighting. Well, back before the Revolutionary War, America was not an independent country. At the time, the 13 American colonies were ruled by Britain. At first, this arrangement worked out fine, but then Britain started asking the colonists to pay taxes. A tax is a sum of money citizens pay to the government in exchange for services, protection, and support.
Some taxes might have been okay with the American colonists, but when the British government passed a group of laws known as the Townshend Acts, the colonists felt like they were getting bullied by Britain. The Townshend Acts required the colonists to pay money to Britain when they bought things like paper, glass, and tea. Many of the colonists thought this tax was unfair, and tempers started to flair. British soldiers were sent to Boston to regain control, but this only added to the tension.
Eventually, some of the colonists reached their breaking point. On March 5th, 1770, a big group of colonists gathered and started to throw snowballs and other things at the British soldiers. The British soldiers reacted by firing into the crowd, killing five of the colonists.
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News of the killings spread through the colonies quickly, and the event came to be known as the Boston Massacre. The colonists were outraged, and now more than ever looked at Britain not only as a bully but as an enemy, which is why historians say that the Boston Massacre was an important turning point in the relationship between Britain and America that led to the Revolutionary War.
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In the 1700s, tensions were growing between Britain and America thanks in part to the Townshend Acts, which were a group of laws that placed a tax on certain goods bought by American colonists. The colonists felt the taxes were unfair, and tensions reached their peak on March 5th, 1770, when British soldiers fired into a crowd of unhappy taxpayers, killing five of the colonists. This event was known as the Boston Massacre and is seen as an important event in American history because it united the colonists against Britain, which would eventually lead to the Revolutionary War.
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Draw a poster that defines the key terms and events in this lesson. Be sure to include: massacre, tax, Townshend Acts, Revolutionary War, and Boston Massacre.
Write a paragraph that explains how the 13 colonies were ruled before the Revolutionary War. In other words, consider whether the American colonies were independent or not.
Write a paragraph or two that describes why the colonists thought they were being bullied by the British and how this feeling led to the Boston Massacre.
Pretend you are an American colonist in Boston and the Townshend Acts have just been passed. Write and perform a speech that explains why you think the Townshend Acts are unfair. Tip: Imagine that you are giving the speech either to a group of fellow colonists or to a group of British soldiers in your city; be sure to tailor your message to your specific chosen audience. Be creative and expressive to be as convincing as possible, getting into character as much as you can.
Look around the room and verbally identify all the items that would be taxable under the Townshend Acts.
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I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
