Question

the sentence below appeared in a boston newspaper that often criticized the british royal government. it tells one version of the events that took place just before the massacre. read the sentence. then follow the instructions below. just before the boston massacre, british soldiers were parading the streets with their drawn weapons, abusing and wounding numbers of colonists. boston gazette, and daily journal, march 12, 1770 imagine you are a historian trying to understand how this account influenced bostonians beliefs about the boston massacre. decide which statements colonists probably would have believed after reading the newspapers account.

Explanation:

The newspaper account mentions "British soldiers were parading the streets with their drawn [weapons], abusing and wounding numbers of [colonists]". So, for the first statement "The British soldiers had weapons", since it's stated they had drawn weapons, colonists would believe it. For the second statement "The British soldiers were already attacking the colonists before the Massacre", the account says they were abusing and wounding colonists (which is an attack - like action), so colonists would believe it. For the third statement "The British soldiers were defending themselves against colonists' attacks", the account portrays the British as the aggressors (abusing and wounding), not the colonists as attackers, so colonists would not believe this.

Answer:

• The British soldiers had weapons: Probably would believe.
• The British soldiers were already attacking the colonists before the Massacre: Probably would believe.
• The British soldiers were defending themselves against colonists' attacks: Probably would not believe.