Unit 3: The American Revolution

1. Unit 3: The American Revolution

2. Lesson 3: The Boston Massacre Lesson Question: What really happened at the Boston Massacre? Lesson Objective: The students will understand how point of view can affect the primary sources for the Boston Massacre.

3. Black Friday Protests at Walmart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jopLpt8-4ic

4. The Boston Massacre, known as the Incident on King Street by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British army soldiers killed five civilian men and injured six others. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support crown-appointed colonial officials attempting to enforce unpopular Parliamentary legislation. Amid ongoing tense relations between the population and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry, who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment. He was eventually supported by eight additional soldiers, who were subjected to verbal threats and thrown objects. They fired into the crowd, without orders, instantly killing three people and wounding others. Two more people died later of wounds sustained in the incident. The crowd eventually dispersed after Governor Thomas Hutchinson promised an inquiry, but reformed the next day, prompting the withdrawal of the troops to Castle Island. Eight soldiers, one officer, and four civilians were arrested and charged with murder. Defended by the lawyer and future American President, John Adams, six of the soldiers were acquitted, while the other two were convicted of manslaughter and given reduced sentences. The sentence that the men guilty of manslaughter received was a branding on their hand. Depictions, reports, and propaganda about the event, notably the colored engraving produced by Paul Revere further heightened tensions throughout the Thirteen Colonies. The event is widely viewed as foreshadowing the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later.

5. Boston Massacre: Colonial View

6. Boston Massacre: Colonial View Think-Pair-Share • What do you see? (What is depicted?) • What don’t you see? (What is left out?) • What is the purpose of the picture? (Why?)

7. Boston Massacre: British View

8. Boston Massacre: British View Think-Pair-Share • What do you see? (What is depicted?) • What don’t you see? (What is left out?) • What is the purpose of the picture? (Why?)

10. Boston Massacre Written Accounts Directions: • Read the account • Annotate the text by bracketing unarguable facts and highlighting questionable assertions • Complete the SOAPS worksheet.

11. Formative Assessment: What really happened at the Boston Massacre?