Peter Greenough
10/26/12
Mr. Bahn 2nd hour

Unit 1 Research Paper

While many events led up to the Revolutionary War, there was one truly historic event that led the patriots to rebel. The Boston Massacre was kindled by the heavy military presence in Boston, British soldiers taking colonists jobs, and hatred for the heavy tax burden placed on the colonists. On March 5, 1770 a group of protestors encountered an armed British patrol in the streets of Boston. The protest mob grew angry and more violent and started to throw snowballs at the British soldiers. Tensions finally erupted between the two groups when the British opened fire on the mob, resulting in the death of 5 Boston Citizens. The first British soldiers arrived in Boston on October 1, 1768 to maintain laws and keep order in the city. The patriots felt like this was an invasion on their city, and reacted with name-calling, fights, and protests. This angered the British, and it also angered the loyalists, who felt that the soldiers were supposed to be there to keep them safe and maintain rules set by the leader of England. Because the patriots had such strong hatred for the British they prevented them from carrying out their assigned duties. This caused tension between the British and the patriots. Many of the British soldiers who came to the colonies did not have high salaries. Because of this, they would often take other people’s jobs around the city to make money. This especially made the citizens of Boston mad, as it made finding work very difficult with so many soldiers coming to the city. This increased the already high tension between the patriots and loyalists, and it wasn’t long before something drastic would happen. The final straw for the colonists was the Townshend Acts. The Townshend Acts imposed a tax on lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea imported from Britain. The colonists were extremely