Boston Massacre

The Boston Massacre was one of the earliest skirmishes in the development of the American Revolutionary War. For the Sons of Liberty Chapter, it was the culmination of a long period of organized unrest and resistance. 
It should be noted that, despite what the mob in Boston wanted, the SoL say to it that the Redcoats involved in the firing were given a fair hearing. Samuel Johnson himself represented them. 
== Historical Backdrop: ==
"On March 5, 1770, tensions were high between the colonists and the armed British soldiers stationed in Boston. That evening, following a dispute between a British sentry and a colonist, an unruly crowd of colonists confronted eight British soldiers and their captain. The volatile crowd refused to obey orders to disperse and threw oyster shells, chunks of ice, and other objects at the soldiers. The soldiers shot into the crowd, and five colonists, including Crispus Attucks, died.
Paul Revere quickly created a print of the scene (from a drawing by Henry Pelham), titled The Bloody Massacre, which depicted British soldiers firing into a crowd of peaceful colonists. Sam Adams and others distributed copies of this print, and publicized the "Boston Massacre" as a symbol of British tyranny.
The day following the "Boston Massacre," a loyalist merchant came to Adams's law office and asked that he defend Captain Preston and the soldiers against charges of murder. Although committed to freedom from British tyranny, Adams agreed. He believed that every person accused of a crime should have counsel and a fair trial.
To succeed, Adams would have to persuade the jurors that Paul Revere's print was political propaganda, and that an out-of-control mob provoked the soldiers to fire in self-defense."
-http://www.mass.gov/courts/court-info/sjc/edu-res-center/jn-adams/the-boston-massacre.htmlCategory:Sons Of Liberty
Category:Liberty