The city of Boston was very unstable throughout the 1760s. This instability quickly turned into violence in the early 1770s. Tension had already begun to rise by the start of the year with various clashes between the British and the colonists. However, in early March, tensions boiled over into bloodshed, resulting in what we now know as the Boston Massacre. The occurrence of these events is a fact, but their interpretations have changed over time. The reports are colored by events occurring at the time they were written and by the author's own biases and opinions. However, we can use these imperfections as a way to track what's happening in America and the state of politics. In an article dated 1823 (John Prentiss, History of the United States of America), we understand that the author blames the citizens for provoking the British soldiers into a position which forced them to shoot. Given the current year, many citizens still felt loyal to Britain and were annoyed by their neighbors. This behavior was considered acceptable given that the Americans needed British support to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. Britain had the weapons and naval power, while America did not. Moving further into history, the accounts of 1855 (AB Berard, School History of the United States) and 1856 (Harper's School History, Narrative of the General Course of History) also offer different representations. of the same events despite their close proximity to each other. The 1855 account offers a different interpretation of how the event aroused enthusiasm and goes on to say that it was "a negro who caused the disorder." The reference to "nigger" was... middle of paper ... that the events of the Boston Massacre were better characterized as marketing than actual events in their article A History of the United States. These were the early days of the Internet and one of the best eras for the use of public relations in American politics. This article appears to be influenced by the use of media to form opinions, whether they are accurate or not. As mentioned earlier, the interpretation of an event changes over time, as the state of the country changes. Although this can cause problems in researching events and trying to learn the facts, you can better understand the emotions felt by people from that time period. For the desired outcome of any research to be accurate, an equal balance between national stability and proximity to the event being researched are the ideal factors to consider when choosing research materials..