The Boston Massacre could have happened for many different reasons, but there is no overlooking the fact that British policies had a large influence in causing the brawl between the British soldiers and American colonists. The Commissioners of Customs, people who collected customs duties for Britain, had been threatened by the citizens of Boston and as a result ordered military protection. Two regiments of British soldiers were sent to Boston to protect the British tax collectors; one of the regiments was the twenty ninth, led by Captain Thomas Preston. The arriva

While loyalists were calmly awaiting the soldiers' release from jail, radicals were preparing their next piece of political propaganda: the Short Narrative. The Narrative contained one neutral testimony that did not lay blame on either the British soldiers or the customs officers. Copies of the Narrative were sent as far as England in hopes that they would gain some support there; unfortunately, English courts had laws against such publications on the grounds that they were prejudicial. Because there were no such laws in Massachusetts, the government had no power to stop the pamphlets or other inflammatory letters and publications from spreading.17

Even by the name of which the event is known is marked with the biased thought that also covered the entire occurrence. In the Boston Massacre, only five people were killed and six others were injured. The word massacre is generally applied to events in which large numbers of people are killed, and in the Boston Massacre that was certainly not the case. In the past, colonists had used the word massacre to describe Indian raids, and they were quick to apply it to the event in Boston as well. In truth, the Boston Massacre was not a massacre at all, but a street fight between an angry mob and British soldiers.19 "This choice of words by which the incident was named and historically recorded is the most immediate evidence that the Boston Massacre was used as an extremely successful piece of political propaganda."20

Olson, Donaldar, and Poescher, Russel. "The Moon's Affect on the Boston Massacre". Sky and Telescope. March 98, Vol. 95; Issue 3, p. 65.

Perhaps more significant than the Boston Massacre itself was how Boston radicals used the incident to provoke anti-British ideas. Propaganda produced by American patriots helped create resentment and rebellion against the British. Strong bias, extreme exaggerations, and grotesque distortions of the massacre greatly influenced how the Boston Massacre was perceived.9 By exploiting the event, radicals were successful in producing a large outspoken anti-British public opinion, one in which the revolutionary leaders had almost lost hope of achieving.10

During the Revolutionary period, political cartoons and caricatures were beginning to be used to express popular opinions and convey current events in an artistic manner. Newspapers and other publications soon began to use this type of propaganda to illustrate or influence public opinions. Because the artwork was not meant to be factual, and because it was only and artistic representation, the type of inaccuracy of Revere's print could be published without causing any public anger.15

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Approximate Word count = 2733
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)