The Boston Massacre

A massacre has been defined as "the indiscriminate, merciless killing of many people or animals." The most famous massacre in American history was quite different from this definition of an unprovoked genocide. The Boston Massacre, as it has come to be known, was one of the first well-publicized acts of violence between British soldiers and American colonists.

Parliament's continued taxation of the American colonies increased the tension in the British Empire that had been escalating for over five years. The Townshend Duty Act was the final incident that sparked the conflict on March 5th, 1770. The Townshend duties imposed taxes on several key imports including tea and paper. The act also placed new customs officials in colonial ports in attempt to curb the smuggling of taxed goods. As with earlier taxes issued by British Parliament, the Townshend Duty Act was met with riots, boycotts, and no importation movements by the colonists.

Through the use of propaganda, American Whig leaders used the dispute in Boston to inspire feelings of distrust and hatred toward British troops, Parliament, and the entire English empire. The "massacre" in Boston resulted in the death of only five American colonists, but to those who were already infuriated with British rule, the killing was an outrage. In reality, the British soldiers who fired shots did so only after they were attacked by a mob of angry colonists assaulting them with sticks and stones. Most Americans rarely heard this version of the story, and those that knew the truth often refused to side with the British. Revolutionary thinkers quickly saw that the Boston Massacre was a perfect platform to further renounce British Parliament and all forms of imposed taxation. Again, Britain had struck out against its colonists, however this time the offense was much worse than heavy taxes.

Leaders of emerging American Whig ideals, such as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, spoke up about the evils of the British Empire and the need to preserve the rights of Americans. Throughout the early 1770s Americans became increasingly tired of British rule. The Intolerable Acts imposed by Parliament only served to intensify colonial unrest. During this time, orators and writers such as Joseph Warren and Thomas Paine began to convince many Americans that they should be entirely independent from Parliament and the British Thrown. Paine's prolific Common Sense, along with other pamphlets and speeches all served to predispose Americans toward independence (Goldfield, Abbott, Anderson, etc. p.162).

Each of these types of early American propaganda was filled with a powerful vocabulary that instilled a sense of pride and patriotism in colonists from Massachusetts to the Carolinas. Warren's Boston Massacre oration is a perfect example of this kind of powerful speech. He begins by crying out for the compassion of Americans, asking them to remember that "terrible" night of the massacre:

"The fatal fifth of March, 1770, can never be forgotten. The horrors of that dreadful night are but too deeply impressed on our hearts. Language is too feeble to paint the emotion of our souls, when our streets were stained with the blood of our brethren - when our ears were wounded by the groans of the dying, and our eyes were tormented with the sight of the mangled bodies of the dead…" (Warren: p.1).

Once again, the reality of the Boston Massacre is lost in the dialogue of this political propaganda. Warren continues his plea to the colonists, asking them to remember the countless crimes of the British:

"We are governed by the absolute command of others; our property is to be taken away without our consent. If we complain, our complaints are treated with contempt; if we assert our rights, that assertion is deemed insolence; if we humbly offer to submit the matter to the impartial decision of reason, the sword is judged the most proper argument to silence our murmurs…" (Warren: p.1).

Warren's speech also idealizes the philosophy of republicanism and all that it represents. Republicanism holds that self-government provides a more reliable foundation for the good of society and individual freedom than rule by kings (Goldfield, Abbott, Anderson, etc: p.164). A republican government, in its purest form, relies on the character and virtue of the people, rather than a monarch. In the final part of his oration, Warren appeals to this sense of "the common man," and refuses the harsh rule of King George III. In this refusal he also calls America to arms. Warren asks colonists to "perform their part" in order to cast off the tyranny of the thrown:

"If you, with united zeal and fortitude, oppose the torrent of oppression; if you feel the true fire of patriotism burning in your breasts; if you, from your souls, despise the most gaudy dress that slavery can wear…you may have the fullest assurance that tyranny, with her whole accursed train, will hide their hideous heads in confusion, shame, and despair. If you perform your part, you must have the strongest confidence that the same Almighty Being who protected you pious and venerable forefathers…will still be mindful of you, their offspring…" (Warren: p.1)

This speech, despite being filled with biased information, was a powerful tool in seizing the patriotism of the colonists. Warren attempted to arouse American pride and a sense of dissolution and contempt for British rule. He asked the people to fight, and to do their part, to ensure a "land of liberty." Propaganda often served to unite the people of the old English colonies into citizens of American states. Warren, like Paine, Adams, and Henry, was a radical think that inspired an entire generation of Americans to take up arms against the British and fight for their independence.