Devin Curtis

Prof. Becherini
Hist 1700
Reflection 1

I found that some of the content from chapter one was particularly interesting and

our in class discussion was quite the eye opener for me. I wasn’t aware of just how

large some of the pre colonial civilizations were. It is not something that most history

classes prioritize in a course curriculum. Mainly these civilizations I am referring to

being the three main Pueblo groups which were Mogollon, Hohokam, and Anasazi. Also

the Aztec and Incan civilizations. U.S history has a way of making these civilizations

seem smaller than they actually were, with little to study about them in the

textbooks.While they may not have been directly tied to modern day America they are

still a part of our history, and shouldn’t be ignored. The fact that some of these

civilizations were able to build homes, cities, and establish societies capable of telling

time and recording their own history is amazing. Oftentimes unfortunately the

achievements of the past are overshadowed by the history leading up to modern day

America.

There were so many different event's covered in chapters 1-3 that would

eventually lead to the Revolution, it was difficult to choose one for the online discussion.

Mainly these events account for the rising tensions between the British and the

Colonists of America. Some of the most significant being the “Boston Massacre” and the

“Boston Tea Party” I chose to dive into the topic of the Boston Massacre for my

discussion post and elaborate further on it here in my reflection.

 In 1770 the Boston Massacre happened, this event was the first recorded event

of British troops firing upon and killing colonial Americans. The Boston Massacre was

primarily a Social trigger that over time would escalate tension between the American's

and the British. As it turns out, the tensions between Americans and the British were

already high, after the severe taxation of Americans essentially being exploited in their

efforts to serve the British empire. The British empire could not tolerate the unrest in the

colonies and in 1768 they decided to send a brigade of approximately four thousand

British soldiers to handle what the British were under the impression was not as serious

of a threat, little did they know this would lead to one of the key events causing the

revolutionary war.

Due to having such an increase in population the already strained town of Boston

was put into an even more stressful dilemma where now the influx of four thousand new

British soldiers caused resources like jobs, food, and living areas to become even more

scarce than they already were. Bostonian's would grow to hate the British, with the

soldiers serving as a constant reminder of British rule. These events fueled the fire and

set the stage for the massacre that took place in 1770. During a riot the soldiers were

attacked by American's and subsequently fired into a crowd executing 5 colonists. It

was at that time that the Americans rallied, the event was used by revolutionaries to

feed the American's already growing distaste for the British. Specifically "The Sons of

Liberty" used this event essentially as propaganda, and as word spread about the

Boston Massacre, so too did the desire for change and a revolution.

In our textbook there is a record of a court session where the soldiers were put

on trial for murder, to quote our textbook and the soldier’s Attorney John Adams in the
defense of the British soldiers reportedly “Adams argued that the mob’s lawlessness

required the soldiers’ response, and that without law and order, a society was nothing.”

[Ch 3 Pg 69, American Civilization, A Brief History]. Well, for the colonists, law and order

came second to life and liberty.

I am excited to see where the next few weeks of class take us in History.