Massachusetts Curriculum Links:

History and Social Studies-

• Core Knowledge events and interest behind the American Revolution,
• Reasoning, Reflection, Research, Evidence and Point of View,
• People and Events in Massachusetts history (Boston Massacre, Crispus Attucks, and John Adams)

Vocabulary

bayonet - a knife made to fit the open end of a musket

colony-a settlement of people who are governed by others

fire- burning property or an officer¹s command to shoot

indictment - a criminal charge brought against a person intent-to do something on purpose or willfully

massacre - the killing of a group of defenseless people at one time; murder-the intentional killing of another person

musket - a long gun, like a rifle, held to the shoulder when fired

propaganda - words or pictures designed to win someone over to a certain point of view, especially when distorting the truth

sentry - a guard posted to prevent unauthorized people from passing

taunt - to make fun of someone in a disrespectful way, to tease, to call names

Town House-The headquarters of Massachusetts colonial government, including the court, and later the Massachusetts State House.

testimony - statement(s) of fact given before a court

verdict - the decision reached by the jury at the end of a trial

witness - someone who has seen or heard something and is called to testify before a court

 

Teacher Bibliography

Boston City Council Staff. Memorial of Crispus Attucks, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Samuel Gray and Patrick Carr, from the City of Boston. North Stratford, NH: Ayer, 1977.

Boston City Council Staff. Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston: Perpetuated in the Evening of the Fifth Day of March, Seventeen Seventy, by Soldiers of the Twenty Ninth Regiment. Reprint. North Stratford, NH: Ayer, 1977.

Langguth, A.J. Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1988.

Trial of the British Soldiers. North Stratford, NH: Ayer, 1977.

Young, Alfred F. The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000.

Zobel, Hiller B. The Boston Massacre. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1970.

 

Student Bibliography

Brill, Marlene. John Adams. Children's Press, 1986. elementary

Brown, Frances, ed. "Two Stories: Eyewitness Accounts of the Massacre," Cobblestone: The History Magazine for Children, Volume 1, Number 3. March, 1980. elementary

Millender, Dharathula. Crispus Attucks: Black Leader of Colonial Patriots. Reprint. Macmillan, 1986. elementary

Phelan, Mary Kay. The Story of the Boston Massacre. Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976 middleschool

Rinaldi, Ann. The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre. Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1993 middleschool

** The Bostonian Society Library has an original copy of the transcripts of the trial of the British soldiers which was published in 1770. The Society also has other printed material in its collection related to the Boston Massacre. Please contact the Librarian at (617)720-1713 x12 or library@bostonhistory.org if you would like more information.