The Boston Massacre is a momentous and dramatic event that took place on the evening of March 5, 1770, just prior to the official start of the American Revolution. The standoff between a frustrated mob of Bostonians and a group of British soldiers quickly escalated to violence when soldiers fired upon the crowd killing five people.

The actions of the British soldiers enraged the citizens of Boston, the men who died quickly became heroes in the eyes of Bostonians. Patriots across the colonies heralded them as some of the first men willing to die for the "American cause" of freedom, and many saw them as brave souls willing to stand up against British tyranny.

At the time, patriots as well as loyalists widely contested the details of the event, but the fact remained that five colonists lay dead due to shots fired by British soldiers. This only exacerbated the growing tensions that existed between the colonies and their mother country.

Unpopular taxes and government policies, such as the Townshend Acts and the Quartering Act, already strained the relationship between colonists and the British Parliament. As a result, the Boston Massacre served as a spark that helped to ignite the powder keg of American frustrations.

The event allowed many ardent Patriots the opportunity to convince other more moderate colonists that the colonies should sever all ties with Great Britain. The Boston Massacre even allowed for the creation of one of the colonies' first pieces of national propaganda against Great Britain; specifically the image created by Paul Revere that depicted a sensationalized version of the event.

This image circulated widely throughout the colonies and helped to drum up support for the Patriot's cause, and cemented the notion of American independence in the minds of colonists.