Directions: The above image is an engraving by Paul Revere depicting The Boston Massacre. The two images below are details taken from the image. Look closely at the images. In the comments section below write about the image. What do you notice? How are the colonists portrayed? How are the British portrayed? From looking at the image, who would you say is the aggressor, the colonists or the British? What evidence supports your conclusion? Next, read the excerpt below from a personal account by an eyewitness to the incident. How does it differ from Paul Revere's engraving? Whose portrayal is likely to be more accurate? Thinking about current events, how can we know that what we hear and see about an event is true? Your response should be at least two paragraphs in length. About 9, some of the guard came to and informed me the town inhabitants were assembling to attack the troops, that that the bells were ringing as the signal for that purpose . . . In my way there, I saw people in great commotion, and heard them use the most cruel and horrid threats against the troops . . . about 100 people passed . . . towards the custom house where the king’s money is lodged. They immediately surrounded the sentry [British soldier] posted there, and with clubs and other weapons threatened to execute their vengeance on him. I was soon informed by a townsman their intention was to carry off the soldier from his post and probably murder him . . . he assured me he heard the mob declare they would murder him. This I feared might be a prelude to their plundering [stealing] the king’s chest. I immediately sent an officer and 12 men to protect the sentry and the king’s money . . . they [the soldiers] rushed through the people and by charging their bayonets in half circles, kept them [the townspeople] at a little distance . . . the unhappy affair took place without any loading in their pieces [muskets]; nor did I ever give orders for loading them. The mob still increased and were more outrageous, striking their clubs...and calling out, come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare . . . fire . . . At this time I was between the soldiers and the mob, parleying with and endeavoring all in my power to persuade them to retire peacefully, but to no purpose.
43 Comments
Liam Curran
2/15/2017 06:16:42 pm
In the images of the troops and colonists, it appears that the British are unmercifully murdering the colonists. The colonists look innocent and helpless, while the British look like cold blooded killers. I would assume that these images were a colonists point of view of how things happened. The document made the colonists seem like extremely aggressive protesters that wanted nothing more, but to hurt the colonists. It also makes it seem like the British did it accidentally. I would expect this to be the British point of view.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:54:20 am
Great response. Next time try to expand your response by adding more detail
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Justin.V
2/15/2017 06:51:25 pm
1. In the engraving by Paul Revere, it portrays the colonists as the innocent people and the British as the aggressors. It has the colonists simply standing in a line protesting, and portrays the British cruelly opening fire into the crowd. The British appear to be the aggressors based upon the muskets they are holding and by all the smoke around the guns, they are the ones shooting.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:56:12 am
Justin, Great response. You include lots of detail to support your conclusions. Bravo connecting to current events.
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Maddie Miniutti
2/15/2017 07:56:17 pm
I think that the two paintings are showing that the British are killing off the innocent colonists. It seems like the paintings were painted by the colonists to show how bad the British are. How they kill innocent colonists and don't care.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:27:53 pm
Maddie,
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Audrey Schulze
2/15/2017 08:29:16 pm
In the engraving by Paul Revere it shows a line of British soldiers shooting at a crowd of unorganized, weaponless, colonists. Many of the colonists appear to be either mortally wounded or dead in result of the British firing at them. This image is definitely portraying the colonist as innocent people going about their lives who are subjected to an attack from a group of British soldiers. None of the colonist are shown with weapons while the British all have proper guns. The British look like they had set out with the intention of going and shooting the colonists; this is shown through the way they are stationed in an organized line with a general standing behind them giving instruction. In this image, the British are portrayed as the aggressor.
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ggg
2/16/2017 04:10:51 pm
great response!!!;)
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:58:32 am
Audrey, A very detailed and well-written response. Well done.
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Sebastian
2/16/2017 09:14:35 am
1. In the first picture, the British are shown as being evil. The colonists were protesting, and the British are just brutally killing them. In the picture, it looks like the troops are heartless and cruel. It makes it seem like they hate the colonists.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:47:37 am
Sebastian, Please read the directions again and submit a new response.
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Naomi Dachis
2/16/2017 02:35:07 pm
1. In the top picture, the colonists and the British are portrayed very intricately. The image has the details of the buildings in the background, and it has the textures of the gun blasts. I noticed that the colors were bright and identifiable and that the figures have a distinct shapes and other features. In the pic, the colonists are portrayed in a way that shows the amount of training and technique compared to the British. The British on the other hand, compared to the Patriots, stand tall, have more confidence, and are clearly having an easier time at battling the rebels. I would say that the British are the aggressors in the pic because the colonists are all lying on the ground, shot dead by the almighty British. The British seemed to not have a single soldier dead on the ground.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:59:55 am
Naomi, I enjoyed your response. The description you give of the image is very detailed.
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Lauren
2/16/2017 03:34:24 pm
Journal Entry #2
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:25:47 pm
Lauren,
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Finn
2/16/2017 04:08:07 pm
Literature answer
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:29:45 pm
Finn, Good commentary and comparison.
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jenna
2/16/2017 04:09:30 pm
The picture makes the British look very cruel and viscous and it makes it look like the colonists can't fend for themselves and they are being shot down without doing a single thing wrong. And I think the aggressor is one of the colonists because that wouldn't really make any sense if the British tried to make themselves look bad.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:34:27 pm
Jenna,
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Annie
2/16/2017 05:52:28 pm
1. In these images it shows a line of British soldiers firing into an American crowd. It appears like they are enjoying the violence, especially the one at the far end. Their posture shows aggression and ready for attack. The colonists who were mostly laborers, are dressed as gentlemen and showed to be a weaker group.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:35:31 pm
Annie,
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Lily
2/16/2017 06:27:44 pm
In the images shown above of the engraving by Paul Revere it shows a very graphic image that looks a little stretched from the actual truth. You can obviously tell that the art was made by someone who favored the colonists because of the aggression depicted by the British soldiers and the clear helplessness on the Patriot side. It is shown as the British mercilessly killing the colonists and them scrambling for help. In the engraving there is almost an invisible line between the two groups, on one side it shows the British in a strait line formation, none injured, and clouds of smoke surrounding them as they fire their guns. However, on the colonists side it shows many people on the ground dead, people looking for help, and most importantly they are not shown firing back.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:46:15 pm
Lily, It is crazy, isn't it? It shows how much perspective can influence how an event is portrayed. Nicely tied to issues in current media.
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James Salazar
2/16/2017 06:41:27 pm
In the first image of Paul Revere’s engraving, I noticed that the British are armed and are portrayed as the aggressors. In a clearer picture, it seems as if the Solders are smiling. In the clearer picture you also notice an African-American who probably is Crispus Attucks, who actually died at the Boston Massacre. The fact that the solders are in red coat uniforms and are the only ones armed, gives the impression that they are the aggressors. The Americans are showed in fine clothing with no weapons and there is a woman present. Some of the Americans are dead and there blood surrounding some of the men. It also gives the impression that they shooting innocent people especially a woman.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:50:13 pm
James,
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Jarhead
2/16/2017 06:42:40 pm
In the photos in shows a kinda more bias towards the British just because they more colonists killed then British. On the photo to the left it shows the colonists dying and falling back. But on the photo to the right it shows the British Redcoats pushing forward and winning.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 11:50:59 am
Jared, Your response is incomplete. Please reread the directions and submit a more complete response.
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Sam
2/16/2017 07:23:18 pm
1. After looking at both pictures, I believe that Paul Revere's depiction of the Boston Massacre is biased towards the patriots. Being a patriot himself, I feel like that influenced him when making this drawing. In the drawing, I think the colonists are being portrayed as the victims of the British brutal attacks. I would say that the British are the aggressors because in the details taken from the drawing, it shows the British viciously attacking and firing at the patriots, who are falling down and struggling to fight back. I think that although it might not have been intentional, Paul Revere's drawing was definitely sided toward the patriots.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:52:11 pm
Sam, Your response is fantastic. You are thorough and insightful. Well done.
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1) The engraving by paul revere shows a graphic image of the british firing upon an innocent looking crowd of people with looks of malice
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Jenn
2/17/2017 01:16:47 pm
Chris,
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Jeremiah Druckenmiller
2/16/2017 09:41:41 pm
In the engraving the portrayal of the Boston Massacre is clearly biased, almost to a point where it can be used as propaganda, in favor of the colonist side. The colonists are helpless and lying in each others arms their fate undecided and in the British soldier's hands, meanwhile the British are grimly smirking and ready to pounce while killing the colonists almost like a predator eating/hunting its prey. 👌 👍
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Jenn
2/17/2017 02:14:54 pm
Jeremiah,
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Lily
2/17/2017 02:56:52 pm
Those are some fire emojis. And a great journal entry. Tasteful writing.
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James O'Sullivan
2/16/2017 09:42:29 pm
1. I notice that this is a colonist painting of the Boston Massacre. I also notice the British are shooting at the colonists. The colonists are portrayed as innocent since they are dying, not fighting back and running away. The British are portrayed as evil and the aggressor because they are killing the colonists. The evidence that help suggest the British are the aggressors is the colonists appear to be innocent and the British appear to be the cause of the attack.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 02:21:28 pm
James,
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Douglas
2/16/2017 10:04:58 pm
In the engraving by Paul Revere, the event is depicted as some kind of horror show, with one of the British troops even smiling as they fire at the patriots. The patriots themselves look mortified as the British fire into them, as if they did not provoke this whatsoever. Another piece of evidence that shows a bias is the fact that Paul Revere himself was very strongly towards the side of the patriots, and was a firm believer in freedom from Britain. His engraving is clearly meant to be propaganda, for the purpose of stirring up tensions within the colonies. Using this information, the aggressor is most likely to be the British, knowing everything we do about Paul Revere's views and opinions.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 02:26:30 pm
Douglas, Really great analysis of the two pieces and discussion of the connection to current events.
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Colin Calvetti
2/17/2017 11:25:00 am
These pictures are depicting the British as the people causing the event. It just shows bunch of unarmed men and women getting shot at.It is very clear that Paul Revere was painting it for the British because it is very biased. Also the British are just shooting with no care in the world while the Colonists get shot and suffer.
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Jenn
2/17/2017 02:33:37 pm
Colin, I agree with your insights! Try to add more detail in future responses.
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Sebastian
2/27/2017 06:06:04 pm
In the picture, the British seem to be heartless people who are murdering civilians. One can see this was draw by a Patriot, and there are no snowballs that the colonists were throwing. Paul Revere is very biased, and wants to use this as propaganda. I do not think this is very accurate.
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Eric Song
2/27/2017 09:11:01 pm
1) I think that the picture kind of looks biased toward to colonists, because it only looks like the British are fighting. In the picture, the British soldiers are shooting. It looks like the British are causing the fight. One of the colonists is pointing to a British soldier, and it seems to be accusing the British of starting the fight. It could very likely be biased, because Paul Revere painted that picture of the British being aggressive, and the colonists trying to stop the fight or make peace.
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Julia
4/14/2017 05:28:49 am
1.
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