“The Bloody Massacre in King Street”
7 Facts about the Boston Massacre
1) The heavy military presence in Boston that lead to the Massacre was the result of
British enforcement of the Townshend Acts of 1767.
2) The Massacre occurred on the evening of March 5, 1770 when a group of youths and
dockworkers traded insults with British Soldiers in front of the city’s customs house.
A fight breaks out and soldiers fire shots at the crowd.
3) Five civilians died as a result of the incident. The first to die was an African-American
freedman named Crispus Attucks.
4) There were two separate Boston Massacre trials. One for the officer in charge,
Captain Preston, and one for the soldiers. Founding Father, John Adams, was the
lawyer in charge of their defense.
5) Nine British regulars were charged during trials. Seven men were acquitted, two
others were found guilty of manslaughter.
6) Many believed that Captain Preston was the one who gave the order to fire on the
crowd. But the trial decided that Preston could not have ordered to fire, as he was
standing in front of the guns, between his men and the crowd of protesters.
7) Before the “The Boston Massacre” name became common, the incident was also
called The Bloody Massacre in King Street, from the title of the famous Paul Revere
engraving.
Name:
Class Period:
Answer the following questions in complete sentences, citing evidence from the
picture.
1. Who would you call the ‘villains’ or the ‘victims’ of this event?
2. Do you think the title is appropriate? Why?
3.
What conclusions can you draw about the artist?