The Boston MassacreSHEG

VTS

1. What’s going on in this picture?

2. What do you see that makes you say that?

3. What more can we find?

https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661777/

Central Historical Question:

What happened in Boston on March 5th, 1770? Who was responsible?

Background Information

Paul Revere created the first image, which he titled “Bloody Massacre in King Street.” Revere, a silversmith and engraver, was actively involved in efforts to resist British rule. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty and created engravings that sought to build opposition to the British. Revere began selling copies of “Bloody Massacre” three weeks after the event. He based it on an engraving by

Henry Pelham, who was a Loyalist. Pelham was never credited for his work.

Shaping public opinion● The British are lined up and an officer is giving an order to fire, implying that the British soldiers are the

aggressors. ● The colonists are shown reacting to the British when in fact they had attacked the soldiers.● British faces are sharp and angular in contrast to the Americans’ softer, more innocent features. This makes the

British look more menacing.● The British soldiers look like they are enjoying the violence, particularly the soldier at the far end.● The colonists, who were mostly laborers, are dressed as gentlemen. Elevating their status could affect the way

people perceived them.● The only two signs in the image that you can read are "Butcher’s Hall" and "Customs House," both hanging

directly over the British soldiers.● There is a distressed woman in the rear of the crowd. This played on eighteenth-century notions of chivalry.● There appears to be a sniper in the window beneath the "Butcher’s Hall" sign.● Dogs tend to symbolize loyalty and fidelity. The dog in the print is not bothered by the mayhem behind him and

is staring out at the viewer.

Shaping public opinion (cont.) ● The sky is illustrated in such a way that it seems to cast light on the British "atrocity."● Crispus Attucks is visible in the lower left-hand corner. In many other existing copies of this print, he is not

portrayed as African American.● The weather conditions depicted do not match the testimony presented at the soldier’s trial (no snow).● The soldiers’ stance indicates an aggressive, military posture.

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

● In the first edition, the time on the clock was incorrect. Revere had it corrected immediately.● The trial of the British soldiers was the first time a judge used the phrase "reasonable doubt."● One of the British soldiers named Pierce Butler left the army and became a South Carolina plantation owner. In

1787, he was appointed as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

ObjectiveYou will practice sourcing and corroborating documents to understand what took place in Boston on March 5, 1770. You will examine two narratives and compare why these accounts strongly differ. The first is a British army official’s written testimony of the incident. The second is a summary of sworn testimony by a colonist who witnessed the events.

Background Information ● Boston had been the center of the conflict between colonists and the British

government in the years following the Seven Years’ War. ● By 1770, the British had stationed more than 4,000 troops in Boston to

maintain order. The population of Boston at the time was approximately 15,000.

● Residents of Boston were upset by the presence of British soldiers, and there were frequently confrontations between British soldiers and colonists.

● On February 22, 1770, an 11-year-old boy, Christopher Seider, was shot and killed by a British customs official during a protest. Bostonians were outraged and his death was widely publicized.

Cont.

On March 5, 1770, there was a violent confrontation between British soldiers and colonists in Boston. British soldiers killed five colonists in an event that came to be known as the Boston Massacre. The events leading up to the Boston Massacre were chaotic, and there are many conflicting accounts of what took place.

SOURCING - DOCUMENT AWorking in Pairs, source Document A and record your responses in your graphic organizer.

1) Who was Thomas Preston?

2) When was it written?

3) Why was it written?

4) What do you predict this document will say?

Who is Captain Preston? Preston was an officer in the British army.

Given that Preston was in jail. Since there was a possibility that charges could be brought against him or that he could lose his job, we might suspect that he claimed others were responsible for the violence.

He may also have been trying to shape public opinion about who was responsible for what happened.

READ ALOUD- DOCUMENT A

DOCUMENT A CLOSE READING, CORROBORATION, & RELIABILITY

Close Reading

5) According to this document, what happened at the Boston Massacre?

6) According to this document, who was responsible for the Boston Massacre?

Corroboration

7) How is this account similar or different from the accounts provided by the two images?

Reliability

8) How trustworthy is this account of what happened at the Boston Massacre? Explain your reasoning.

SOURCING - DOCUMENT BWorking in Pairs, source Document B and record your responses in your graphic organizer.

1) Who was Samuel Drowne?

2) What kind of document is this?

3) When was this document created?

4) What do you predict this document will say?

READ ALOUD- DOCUMENT B

DOCUMENT B CLOSE READING, CORROBORATION, & RELIABILITY

Close Reading

5) According to this document, what happened at the Boston Massacre?

6) According to this document, who was responsible for the Boston Massacre?

DOCUMENT B CLOSE READING, CORROBORATION, & RELIABILITY

CORROBORATION & RELIABILITY

6) What details about the Boston Massacre do Documents A and B have in common?

7) What details about the event differ?

8.) How is this account similar or different from the accounts provided by the two images?

9.) How trustworthy is this account of what happened at the Boston Massacre? Explain your reasoning?

TABLE TALK - 5 MINUTES

Consider the similarities and differences between these

documents.

Which one(s) do you think provides a more trustworthy account of what happened at the Boston Massacre ?

PROMPT- INDIVIDUAL

PROMPT: What happened in Boston on March 5, 1770? Who was responsible?

IN A ONE PARAGRAPH RESPONSE (in your Notebook) cite ONE piece of TEXTUAL evidence ( from either document) to support your claim.

Evidence should be properly cited.

( Document A, Thomas Preston) ( Document B, Samuel Drowne)

Film Analysis: “John Adams Episode 1”

DocumentsImage 1: Revere, Paul. “ The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.” 1770.

Image 2 Nell, William. “ Crispus Attucks, the first martyr of the American Revolution, King Street, Boston, March 5th, 1770. 1855.”

Document A Preston, Thomas. "The Case of Capt. Preston of the 29th Regiment." Public Advertiser (London), April 28, 1770.

Document B Drowne, Samuel. "Sworn Testimony." In History of the Boston Massacre, 90-91. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell, 1980.