Rise To Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution

“White could not hold back, the terror and the anger too strong, and as he pulled the trigger, he heard the man say, ‘You cannot kill us all.’”

This quote vividly describes the stress and anxiety leading up to the Boston Massacre. Told from the perspective of a British soldier, verbally and physically assaulted by a colonial mob, awaiting orders to fire, this quote gives the British a measure of sympathy while depicting the level of righteous anger at the soldiers’ mere presence. As the soldiers aim the muskets into the crowd, the protester’s retort indicates a sense of unity among the colonists. A few may die, but they are a nation standing against oppression, and that is a battle the military cannot win.

“There is an awful danger when the people become accustomed to tyranny.”

Speaking to his cousin John Adams, Sam Adams argues that, despite the tragic loss of life, the Boston Massacre is exactly what the cause of liberty has needed. He understands the appeal of complacency, and his job, as he sees it, is to prevent that complacency from becoming habitual. When a people become too inured to their own oppression, it becomes normalized, and they cannot see how their rights are slowly being stripped away right under their noses. This quote also captures the theme of The Privilege and Abuse of Power regarding English occupation.