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Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

Propaganda: The Boston Massacre and Landing of the Troops Print

Revere’s print of the Boston Massacre, 1770.
Revere’s print of the Boston Massacre, 1770. Engrav’d Printed & Sold by Paul Revere Boston.
An image of the Revere's Landing of the Troops in Boston Harbor in 1768 print.
Landing of the Troops in Boston Harbor in 1768. (Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library)

Revere influenced the American public greatly through his peddling of propaganda. His two most famous pieces are prints from copper plate engravings. One depicts the Boston Massacre and is one of the most influential pieces of propaganda in American history, convincing the general public that British soldiers had fired upon innocent, unarmed colonists despite witness testimonies confirming that colonists were attacking the soldiers with rocks and snowballs. The other shows the arrival of British troops in Boston in 1768, embellishing the view of soldiers and boats to imply that Boston was being invaded.