The Paxton Boys
Hayden Sledge, Sallie Simpson, Kate Dyleski, and Lucy Key
Who were the Paxton Boys?
Sallie Simpson
The Paxton Boys were a group of around 50 bias frontiersmen who lived in Paxton, Pennsylvania. They were known as a vigilant group responsible for the murder of 20 innocent Indians. The first attack had only about 50 frontiersmen the final attack had thousands. Shock waves of the deadly actions of the Paxton Boys are obvious today. The Paxton Boys are a group of boys that will never be forgotten.
"Dauphin." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 7 Feb. 2013
What did the Paxton Boys do?
Kate Dyleski
On December 14, 1763 about 50 men from the towns Paxton, Lebanon, and Hanover Pennsylvania attacked a peaceful group of Indians in Lancaster County. They were known as the Paxton Boys. During this attack they killed six Indians three of them were men, two were women, and one was a kid. They also burned downed their homes. Then on December 27th over two dozen armed Paxton Boys rode into town and went to the innkeeper’s house. They knocked down the doors and killed every Indian man, woman, and child. Then they left town leaving every white person alone. They had a series of attacks like these and were never stopped. After they did everything they wanted to, they left everyone alone once more.
MLA citation: Vaughan, Alden T. "Philadelphia Under Siege." American History 33.6 (1999): 26. History Reference Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2013.
Determined Government
Hayden Sledge
After quite a few killings, John Penn sent people to arrest people involved in the massacre, but that didn’t stop the Paxton Boys.1 Ben Franklin, John Penn, and other citizens wanted to protect the Christian Indians. The Paxton Boys were still determined to kill these Indians and killed more Indians. So, the government realized they needed to protect these Indians to make sure there weren’t any more murders. The Indians were then moved to a Work House, where they were supposedly supposed to be kept safe, but sadly that didn’t happen. So, all the Indians were murdered by the Paxton boys. Officials were appalled about their horrific happenings. Legislatures commented “barbarously butchered by a sett of Ruffians, whose audacious cruelty is checked by no sentiment of Humanity, and by no regard to the Laws of their Country."2
1 "Paxton Boys uprising." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 8 Feb. 2013.
2Vaughan, Alden T. "Philadelphia Under Siege." American History 33.6 (1999): 26. History Reference Center. Web. 8 Feb. 2013
3URL:http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS382US403&biw=1366&bih=641&tbm=isch&tbnid=zlIyQuxRTmJfIM:&imgrefurl=http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php%3FimgId%3D1-2-52F&docid=z_I-hGxdb9Dz-M&imgurl=http://explorepahistory.com/kora/files/1/2/1-2-52F-25-Paxton%252520Boys.jpg&w=1734&h=1169&ei=zB4VUcqbLong8wS8wIGoCQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:3,s:0,i:93&iact=rc&dur=605&sig=109198388307247031507&page=1&tbnh=166&tbnw=245&start=0&ndsp=18&tx=82&ty=98
4URL:http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS382US403&biw=1366&bih=641&tbm=isch&tbnid=zlIyQuxRTmJfIM:&imgrefurl=http://explorepahistory.com/displayimage.php%3FimgId%3D1-2-52F&docid=z_I-hGxdb9Dz-M&imgurl=http://explorepahistory.com/kora/files/1/2/1-2-52F-25-Paxton%252520Boys.jpg&w=1734&h=1169&ei=zB4VUcqbLong8wS8wIGoCQ&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:3,s:0,i:93&iact=rc&dur=605&sig=109198388307247031507&page=1&tbnh=166&tbnw=245&start=0&ndsp=18&tx=82&ty=98
Fear of the Indians
Lucy Key
Why did the Paxton Boys massacre the Indians? The Paxton Boys were angry about how the counties divided control over the colonies legislature. They were infuriated because the eastern colonies legislature was not providing enough defenses of the frontier. They were already prejudiced against the Indians and this only fueled their rage. They had been tormented by the Indians for a long time and had enough. Basically, the Paxton Boys were afraid the Indians would unite and kill everyone in their colonies.
Works Cited
Vaughan, Alden T. “ Philadelphia Under Siege. “ American History 33.6 (1999):
26. History Reference Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2013
"Paxton Boys uprising." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2013.