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Boston Massacre
The author highlights the history of Boston Massacre and the events, which occurred 1770s. He provides a background about the massacre by explaining escalation between the British troops and Bostonian crowd. The author of the book is Eric Foner who is an American historian and extensively involved in analyzing the history of American revolution. He is a member of faculty in Columbia University and working in Department of History since 1982. He has a significant experience of providing deeper insights about the American history and presented many publications. He has won nobel prize for some of his books like “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American History” (2010) and Lincoln Prize. The author has produced the document for providing clear details about this historical event and the factors, which provoked it. The reasons for author to generate this document are to analyze the situations, which led to Boston Massacre. The answer is visible in the document as the author starts with the dispute between the troops and the Bostonian during the eighteenth century as mentioned, “Royal troops had been stationed in the city in 1768” (Foner 146). This confirms that British troops agitated the local people of the community.
The document is targeting the potential audience including students and historians because it provides a brief overview on the situation of massacre. The document is developed for the private consumption as it is not available openly. The users needs to purchase the document in hard or soft version which as WW Norton & Company Inc. have the rights of selling. It can be seen from the source that the document is not openly available because it can be accessed only after purchase. The writer has tailored the ideas and language for explaining the history in appropriate manner. The author has managed to choose the traditional narrative style in which chronological order is followed. The author has managed to express the events as they occurred in the past in a systematic order. This reflects that the assumed audience are students and historians because they have most wider interest in understanding the information of the Boston Massacre. My search of American revolution history resulted in my encounter with this document. I had to do a study on American revolution and history of the eighteenth century which, allowed me to find this document.
The historical context depicts that the document was originally written in 1770 but recreated by Foner in his book for analyzing history. The original document of massacre was presented by John Bufford which evaluates all aspects of the event including the factors that agitated the Bostonians. American revolution was happening in the 1770s which can be seen as the root cause of Boston Masscre because prior to this event the British government had imposed taxes on American colonies, who was displeased with the unfair role of the British government. British state’s failure of addressing the concerns of the Bostonians resulted in the dispute.
The production of this document reflects Foner’s efforts of convincing the readers about the seriousness of Boston Massacre. The author has included facts which proves that the massacre caused monetary loses. He has used the document for building a critical insight by claiming that the exploitive role of the elite and British government remains the dominant reason of this dispute. He mentions, “by 1770 as merchants’ shriveled and many members of the colonial elite found they could not do without British goods, the non-importation movement was collapsing” (Foner 146). This confirms that the colonial rule was the dominant reasons behind massacre because people of Boston didn’t accepted British domination.
The author has not directly communicated his objectives to the audience. It can be revealed from the document that the facts are mentioned in a chronological order which reflects Foner’s purpose of educating the readers about the history of American Revolution and how it led to Boston Massacre. The author has also attempted to refuse the arguments presented by the supporters of Boston Massacre because it stresses on the negative role of elites. He mentions, “John Adams, who viewed lower-class crowd actions as dangerous” (Foner 146). The author has thus assumed that the strict actions were taken by the British army for controlling the poor class.
The source is credible because Foner is a historian who studied American history and his professional experience is adequate for providing his reliability. Foner has wrote many books and articles on American history which reflects his practical knowledge. The achievements such as Nobel Prize and Lincoln Award also portray credibility of Foner. The document is generated by a credible published which, again confirms the credibility. The approach of author depicts he has a particular-axe to grind by focusing on the unfair circumstances that agitated the Bostonians. I am convinced that the source is credible so I can use it in my work.
There is a jarring passage in the document which mentions “lower-class crowd actions as dangerous” (Foner 146). I find it different from my own assumptions. Before reading the document I believed that the lower-class was responsible for the massacre but the second passage changed my views by understanding author’s opinion who assumes that it was the negative role of British army which, convinced the people to engage in dispute. The passage don’t speak directly but it can be understood easily because it narrates the facts of history. The most important thing highlighted by author is the anticipatory measures of British army for controlling lower-class. The themes are repeating because the role of different army leaders are highlighted that were focused on the common goal of maintaining control. The most interesting thing in the text is the soldiers action of opening fire on unarmed crowd.
Work Cited
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 4th Edition Seagull Fourth Edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2013.
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