Boston Massacre

Crispus Attucks 

 Boston is one of the most historical cities in the Americas and one of the best cities. I go to Boston at least once a week to go into stores, or to walk around. From the Boston Tea Party to having the oldest continuously running marathon in America. One of the many fascinating stories is of Crispus Attucks. 

Crispus Attucks was born around 1723 in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was born into slavery; his father was a slave and his mother was a native Indian. Attucks was a run a away slave at an early age in his life.  According to The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, historians believe that an advertisement placed in the Boston Gazette on October 2, 1750, referred to him. In it, it says, “Ran away from his Master, William Brown of Framingham, on the 30th of Sept. last, a Molatto Fellow, about 27 Year of age, named Crispas, 6 Feet two Inches high, short curl'd Hair…,”. There was an award for his return of ten pounds. He was a young man who showed an early skill for buying and trading goods.

On March 5, 1770, a mob of American colonists gathers at the Customs House in Boston and  they started to taunt the British soldiers guarding the building. The protesters, who called themselves Patriots, were protesting the occupation of their city by troops, who were sent to Boston in 1768 to enforce unpopular taxation measures passed by a British parliament that lacked American representation.The colonists started to throw snowballs and other objects at the British troops, and Private Hugh Montgomery was hit, leading him to discharge his rifle at the Patriots. When the smoke cleared, five colonists were dead; they were, Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell. In total six Americans were killed and six were wounded. This led to the American Revolution. 

Even after Crispus Attucks had died, he continued to be important in history. Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to Crispus Attucks in the introduction of Why We Can’t Wait, in 1964, as an example of a man whose contribution to history, that, provided a message of moral courage. Attucks helped King become courageous in a way. He gave him the foundation of the rebellion and the start of a better America for all. 

Crispus Attucks became the first casualty of the American Revolution when he  was killed outside of The Old State House in Boston. In some articles, it says that he was the leader of this event. He was hero because we are in the America that we live in. The next time you are in State Street, remember those that died in the Boston Massacre that led to the American Revolution.

• http://www.biography.com/people/crispus-attucks-9191864
• http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-massacre 
• http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-massacre