Autumn Hall

History 1700 (Wed. 2:30)

12/2/2013

Dueling Document Critique

Who was to Blame for the Boston Massacre?
We can learn from these articles that both sides were walking on thin ice, and it was only a matter of time before violence broke out. It shows how easy it is to start a war when both sides are on edge; a simple word shouted from either side, fire!, can start a war that lasted almost ten years. It also shows that history is full of mysteries; no one knows who shot first and each side clearly blames the other side, which is very common, as each side wanted a reason to attack. The first Document was from Captain Thomas Preston, who was in charge of the troop that was in King Street. He claims the mob was egging his troops on, throwing snowballs and calling them lobster scoundrels. He also says that he was between his men and the mob, trying to work things out. Someone asked if the guns were loaded and he said yes, but they were not to fire; and he stood in front of the guns so that hed be shot. He claims that one of his men tripped and accidently fired, which got the mob riled up; they began to throw punches and snowballs, when he asked why the officer shot, one of the mob asked why they dont fire, the troops just heard FIRE!. This, to me, sounds suspicious because if he were in front of his troops, and one accidently fired, how come he was not hit like he claimed he would be? although you can also see he wanted to protect his honor as a captain, and I can see what he means by the soldiers no knowing who said fire, or dont fire, or stop your firing. The second document was from Robert Goddard, one of the civilians at the massacre. He makes the soldiers sound very cold, and heartless; claiming that the captain had threatened him to go home or therell be blood. He says the Captain was behind the soldiers the whole time, and that he ordered the troops to fire, one gun went off and hit a person, then the captain ordered them to fire again. Goddard claims to have seen Preston behind the troops, which would be where the captain usually is; however, Goddard says nothing about the actions of the mob, and if

Autumn Hall

History 1700 (Wed. 2:30)

12/2/2013

they were threatening the troops back. Both Preston and Goddard claim to have seen a man hit Captain Preston; which, to me, says that Preston was probably in front of the line. I think there is a lot more bias in Goddards claim than there is in Prestons; Goddard made the troops and the Captain seem as if they were there for the sole purpose of attacking the mob, where as Prestons seemed more realistic and showed the mob mentality that was present at the time. Goddard also says he was so close to Preston he could have touched him, and heard everything he said, which I think would have been hard if Preston had indeed been behind his troops. History plays an important role in our lives; it establishes politics, societies, and cultural norms. History gives us something to build off of; it shows us mistakes that were made in the past that can be corrected in the future, and how to shape governments so that they last a long time. History can be a predictor of the future, and things that have happened in the past are still having a ripple effect in today; for example, due to severe racism and oppression in the 50s-60s people of color are still suffering from poverty and an overall low income.