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Table of Contents
On March 5, 1770, in Boston, British soldiers shot two musket balls into the chest of sailor Crispus Attucks, who was of mixed African and Native American origin. His death and the deaths of four other men at the hands of the 29th Regiment became known as the Boston Massacre. Attucks was a nameless sailor before his death, but thereafter he became a martyr for a growing revolutionary cause.
See the fact file below for more information on Crispus Attucks, or you can download our 20-page Crispus Attucks worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
ORIGIN
- The details of Attucks’ life before his passing remain a mystery. Although his origin is unknown for certain, it is believed that his mother was a Natick Indian named Nancy Attucks and that his father was an enslaved person named Prince Yonger who was taken to America.
- On October 2, 1750, Framingham, Massachusetts resident William Brown placed an ad in the Boston Gazette seeking the return of a runaway enslaved person by the name of “Crispas,” who is typically assumed to be the Crispus in issue.
- During the Massacre trial, witnesses used the terms “mulatto” or “Indian” interchangeably to describe Attucks, suggesting his mixed African and Indigenous birth. His last name, “Attucks,” is of Indigenous origin and comes from the Natick word for “deer.”
- At the time of his passing, Attucks was not listed as being a now or previously enslaved person by contemporary sources. It is uncertain how or when Attucks became free, but it’s probable that he adopted the guise of Michael Johnson to avoid going back to being enslaved.
BOSTON MASSACRE
- British forces and a crowd engaged in combat in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 5, 1770, during the Boston Massacre.
- In the years leading up to American Revolution, the Boston massacre incident was extensively accounted which increased colonial North America’s hostility toward the British administration.
- Someone issued a handbill purporting to be from the British soldiers on March 5 morning, promising that they were committed to protecting themselves.
- The rumors that soldiers were preparing to destroy the so-called Liberty Treeβa South Boston elm tree from which supporters of the Stamp Act had hung their effigies and which bore a copper-plated sign reading “The Tree of Liberty,” and that a soldier had attacked an oysterman, sparked a crowd of angry Bostonians to take to the streets that evening.
- A group of 50 to 60 people turned their anger toward the lone soldier stationed outside the Customs House. Capt. Thomas Preston led seven soldiers through the mob while brandishing fixed bayonets after learning of the sentry’s predicament from a British sympathizer.
- The gathering grew, but Thomas Hutchinson, the acting Governor at that time, talked to them and brought an uncomfortable peace to the city by making his way to the Old State House’s balcony, where he issued an order to the remaining soldiers to report to the barracks.
- One of the soldiers was jostled in the tumult, and out of panic, he fired his musket towards the patriot mob that had cornered them close to the Customs House. Assuming they had heard the order to fire, further soldiers did likewise.
- Three people in the crowd were shot and killed almost instantly. Of the eight further wounded people, two passed away afterward.
- Attucks was among a group of men that marched up to the Old State House carrying clubs and sticks. Some witnesses alleged that Attucks was responsible for striking a soldier with a piece of wood. Attucks was “leaning upon a staff” when the troops opened fire, according to several witnesses.
- Six colonists were hurt, and five were killed. Attucks was said to be the first person to pass away after receiving two ricocheting bullets in the chest. Attucks’ autopsy was performed by county coroners Thomas Crafts Jr. and Robert Pierpoint.
- Attucks’ body was taken to Faneuil Hall, where it remained in state until March 8, when he and the other victims were buried together in the same grave site in Boston’s Granary Burying Ground.
- He was “felled by two bullets to his chest, one of them ‘goring the right lobe of the lungs and a great part of the liver most horribly,'” according to reports. According to accounts, he had been alive for around 47 years.
THE TRIALS
- The majority of the accused troops were successfully defended by John Adams against a murder accusation. Two people were convicted of manslaughter while the troops begged for the help of the church when facing the possibility of hanging; as a result, they received markings on their thumbs.
- Adams charged Attucks of having “undertaken to be the hero of the night” and with having sparked a fight by his “mad behavior,” calling the gathering “a motley rabble of saucy youngsters, negros and molattoes, Irish teagues and odd Jack Tarrs.”
- Samuel Adams, a cousin of John Adams and a founding father of the United States, gave the incident the label “Boston Massacre” two years later, making sure that no one would ever forget it.
- Black burials were generally consigned to the back or far side of the cemetery due to historical customs that forbade interment of black and white persons together. But such a thing was not entirely unknown.
LEGACY AND HONORS
1858: Abolitionists in the Boston area, particularly William Cooper Nell, created “Crispus Attucks Day” to honor him.
1886: There were circles on the pavement where Crispus Attucks and Samuel Gray had fallen.
1888: On Boston Common, a memorial was built in memory of Attucks and the other Boston Massacre victims. It is around 10 feet broad and about 25 feet high.
1998: The “Black Revolutionary War Patriots silver dollar” coin, which bears Attucks’ likeness on the obverse, was released by the US Treasury.
2002: Crispus Attucks was included in the list of the 100 Greatest African Americans by the Afrocentrist academic Molefi Kete Asante.
The Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana; the Attucks High School in Hopkinsville, Kentucky; the Attucks Middle School in Sunnyside, Houston, Texas; the Crispus Attucks Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri; and the Attucks Middle School in Dania Beach, Florida are among the institutions bearing Attucks’ name.
ATTUCKS IN POP CULTURE
- When the monument was ultimately unveiled, poet John Boyle O’Reilly composed the poem that follows:
And to honor Crispus Attucks, who was the leader and voice that day: The first to defy and the first to die, with Maverick, Carr, and Gray. Call it riot or revolution, or mob or crowd as you may, such deaths have been seeds of nations, such lives shall be honored for aye […]
- Martin Luther King Jr. cited Crispus Attucks as an example of a man whose contribution to history delivered a striking message of moral courage in the introduction to Why We Can’t Wait (1964).
Crispus Attucks Worksheets
This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Crispus Attucks across 20 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Crispus Attucks a Patriot Martyr. On March 5, 1770, in Boston, British soldiers shot two musket balls into the chest of sailor Crispus Attucks, who was of mixed African and Native American origin. His death and the deaths of four other men at the hands of the 29th Regiment became known as the Boston Massacre.
Complete List of Included Worksheets
Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.
- Crispus Attucks Facts
- Get to Know Me
- Peopleβs Opinion
- Pic to Meaning
- Making Connections
- Paint It!
- Attucks
- Pop Culture
- Patriotism
- Little Ways
- A Poem for You
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Crispus Attucks?
Crispus Attucks was an African American man who is widely considered to be the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, which occurred on March 5, 1770. He was born around 1723 and was likely of mixed African and Native American ancestry.
What was the Boston Massacre?
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation between British soldiers and a group of American colonists in Boston on March 5, 1770. The soldiers ended up firing on the crowd, killing five people, including Crispus Attucks.
Why is Crispus Attucks significant in American history?
Crispus Attucks is significant in American history because his death was one of the key events that helped spark the American Revolution. Many colonists were outraged by the incident, and it helped galvanize anti-British sentiment in the years leading up to the Revolution.
What was Attucks’ background before the Boston Massacre?
Not much is known about Crispus Attucks’ background before the Boston Massacre. He was likely born into slavery, but he may have escaped from bondage and worked as a sailor in Boston. He was known to be a skilled and outspoken man who was active in Boston’s black community.
How has Attucks been remembered in American history?
Crispus Attucks has been remembered as a hero and a martyr in American history. He has been celebrated as a symbol of resistance to tyranny and oppression, and his name has been invoked in many civil rights movements throughout American history. In 1888, a monument to Attucks and the other victims of the Boston Massacre was erected in Boston’s Granary Burying Ground.
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