In March 1771, a year after the Boston Massacre had taken place, a committee voted to commemorate the historic event with an annual address. Dr. Joseph Warren was a member of the committee and was selected to deliver the oration twice, first on March 5, 1772, and again in 1775. The annual oration, delivered by various people over the years, was eventually pushed aside to make room for Fourth of July celebrations after 1783. Warren, a respected doctor in Boston, was known for being a gifted speaker and an animated revolutionary leader. Warren was also responsible for drafting a declaration known as the Suffolk Resolves. He advocated for Massachusetts to become a free state and denounced the Coercive Acts, claiming they were detrimental to the colonists. His Suffolk Resolves were eventually forwarded to the Continental Congress and adopted. Warren’s second oration in 1775 preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord by a little over a month and provided an extra spark, thus rallying the people to engage in the Patriot cause. Warren was killed by a musket ball several months later during the Battle of Bunker Hill.