American History
QUESTION ONE
Paul Revere used an engraving of the bloody massacre in order to shape the public opinion in several ways. The engraving shows the British soldiers lined up taking orders from the officer to fire, and this shows how aggressive these soldiers were. The faces of the British appeared angular and sharp as opposed to the soft faces of the Americans. The British therefore, appeared more menacing compared to Americans because the Americans appeared to be more innocent. The colonialists are seen attacking the soldiers, but in the real sense, the opposite is true. He portrayed the British soldiers in a manner suggesting that they seemed to enjoy the violence. Revere also used dogs that tend to symbolize fidelity and loyalty. The dogs appear not concerned about the turmoil behind him and gazes at the viewer. The timing shown by Revere was not correctly stated. The picture illustrated the sky in such a manner that it glorified the acts of British soldiers. In addition, the weather condition and illumination does not tell the accurate time that the massacre occurred and the stance taken by the British soldiers indicates an aggressive, military posture. This shows that the soldiers were more combative and wanted to kill the citizens of the town.
On the other hand, the presentation of Captain Thomas showed that the arrival of the troops in Boston was very unpleasant to the inhabitants. The colonialists were sending many soldiers to Boston for no apparent reason. The inhabitants carried weapons in their clothes in order to destroy the soldiers therefore the British soldiers were told to be careful. Captain Thomas maintains that the civilians incited the soldiers to start shooting at the crowd. The war therefore arose between the people and the soldiers. The citizens kept insulting the soldiers and a fight ensued. Captain Thomas maintains that the soldiers incited the citizens to react after one of the soldiers pushed and pierced through the clothes of Merchant, almost causing injury. Captain Boston’s account differs from Revere’s account in that Captain Thomas maintains that Merchant struck the soldier after being provoked. Captain Thomas maintains that the commotion that attracted the attention of some citizens who chased the soldiers to the barracks before returning with weapons. Revere’s drawing and Captain Thomas’ account of the event share many similarities only that Revere does not accurately put the correct timing for the event.
Captain Thomas was therefore correct in terms of timing. Revere’s account show that the British soldiers attacked innocent civilians for no good reason. He fails to acknowledge the source of the problem. Captain Thomas brings this into light by describing how the event ensued, by describing how the citizens proved the soldiers leading to a fight. However, the picture shows that the commander ordered his soldiers to shot at the crowd mercilessly without any apparent reason. The picture does not show the citizens throwing snowballs at the soldiers, something that Captain Thomas included in his account of the event. From these events, it would be right to say that Captain Thomas gave a more accurate account because he starts his account by describing how the whole issues started. On the contrary, Revere only captures the confrontation between the soldiers and the civilians and portrays the situation to show that the soldiers were attacking innocent citizens who had not provoked any soldier.
