The Boston Massacre P4

Last week I ended talking about the British soldiers being so fearful of the crowds attacking them that they fired into the crowds killing 5. The British soldiers were arrested and accused of murder. Prominent attorney John Adams defended them, and even though he was an ardent patriot, his integrity and zeal for justice and the law remained un-compromised.

He honorably and ably represented the soldiers, six of whom were acquitted. Two soldiers received reduced charges from murder to manslaughter, for they lacked initial intent to kill and were primarily responding in fear for their lives.

This deadly event seemed to cement the course of the coming conflict. The relationship between the Americans and the British continued to deteriorate.

John Adams, speaking of the Boston Massacre later acknowledged: Not the battle of Lexington on Bunker Hill, not the surrender of Burgoyne or Cornwallis were more important events in American history than the battle of King Street on March 5th, 1770.

Content Sourced From The American Story: The Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton.