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THE BOSTON MASSACRE The Boston Massacre was an unfortunate event which could have clearly been prevented if taken the right precautions and made the right decisions at the right time. According to my text book, the massacre was an attempt at protest against the British soldiers taking over the colonists’ jobs. If the soldiers had followed instructions, if Britain had paid the soldiers more, and if Crispus Attucks had taken a more peaceful approach to this problem, things might’ve gone differently.
First of all, the soldiers were told not to fire any weapons, yet they did. Since the citizens were not armed, the soldiers were clearly at a much greater advantage. If the soldiers had refrained from this action then the “massacre” would’ve been fairer. Although the shot was just a shot in the crowd, it still started a huge commotion killing 5 innocent citizens. If the soldiers saw the rioters coming to them, they should have immediately put away their fire arms and set a fair ground so that they could settle this practically.
Secondly, the soldiers were highly underpaid; therefore there was the competition for jobs between the colonists and the soldiers who looked for extra work in local shipyards during off-duty hours. The fight originally started over the shortage of jobs. If the British government paid them a little more, the shortage of jobs wouldn’t be that big of an issue, and the colonists would not have acted in such a harsh manner. The British government should have known there was tension between these two groups and tried to solve their differences by making more jobs available, more salary for soldiers or fewer soldiers across seas.
Lastly, Crispus Attucks didn’t exactly take “the high road” in this situation. He saw what was going on, thought it wrong, and chose to riot. He could’ve tried to talk to his colony’s government to see what could possibly be done on this matter. He could also have calmed the other rioters down and told them not to get all worked up and violent, that if they wanted change, they should change themselves first. In conclusion, the Boston Massacre was a tragic event that will forever leave animosity in some British and American hearts, but if thought out logically and reasonably then there would be no need for those lives to have to gone to waste.
Crispus Attucks is known as a brave man, but if he would have thought rationally, maybe things could have been different. If the British had intervened at the right time and sent some soldiers home or paid them more, the colonists would not be suffering from job shortages. And lastly, if the soldiers had set common grounds to fight on, the five courageous men could have lived a little longer. In the end, I think the Boston Massacre was an inevitable event that was bound to happen sooner or later, however if it was set a little differently, things could have turned out for the better.