Compare competing accounts of the Boston Massacre, investigate a map, and test the promises of founding documents against unequal rights.
Use with Chapter 6 · 3.T6.1–5
Revere’s 1770 print, based on Henry Pelham’s design, presents the soldiers firing in an orderly line. This is a political image, not a photograph. Look for details that direct the viewer’s sympathy.
The Boston Massacre, or, The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5, 1770 by a party of the 29th Regiment · 1770
Museum object record ↗
The newspaper describes soldiers attacking townspeople and emphasizes the deaths and the sorrow of the funeral. Its language strongly condemns the soldiers. A newspaper account can preserve important evidence and also try to persuade its readers.
Preston describes a threatening crowd and objects striking the soldiers. He says he did not order them to fire. He was defending his conduct and had a strong reason to present his actions favorably. His claim must be checked against other testimony.
John Adams supported colonial rights and also defended the accused soldiers. A jury acquitted Preston. In the soldiers’ trial, six were acquitted and two convicted of manslaughter. Different verdicts show why evidence about individual actions matters.
National Park Service: the trials ↗
Thomas Hyde Page’s map labels Patriot fortifications “rebels works.” Compare that wording with “Patriots.” Which position does each word suggest?
Modern Maine was part of Massachusetts before becoming a state in 1820. The map above highlights today’s two shapes to make that relationship visible; it does not claim colonial boundaries were identical.
Historical map record ↗ · Maine State Law Library ↗
Osgood Carleton’s map, cataloged 1800, actually calls this place the “district of Maine, Massachusetts.” The title is evidence that Maine had not yet become a separate state. It covers the District of Maine, not the whole earlier Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Compare the historical title and town divisions with our current New England map. The original sheet is visibly worn; missing portions are not blank territory.
| Document | Selected words or idea | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration · 1776 | “all men are created equal” | Who was denied equal rights despite this promise? |
| Massachusetts Constitution · 1780 | “All men are born free and equal” | How could someone use these words to challenge slavery? |
| U.S. Constitution · 1787 | A plan for national government (paraphrase) | How is a plan different from a declaration? |
| Bill of Rights · 1791 | Protections including speech, religion, and assembly (paraphrase) | Why write protections into a government’s rules? |
National Archives transcriptions ↗ · Massachusetts Constitution ↗
Elizabeth Freeman and Brom won freedom in 1781. Abigail Adams called attention to women’s rights in 1776. Neither independence nor a sentence about equality made everyone’s opportunities equal.
Read their biographies →Samuel Adams and John Hancock: organized resistance and colonial political leadership. Paul Revere: spread messages through print and his 1775 ride. Peter Salem: a Black soldier who fought in the Revolution. Crispus Attucks: a sailor killed in the Boston Massacre. John and Abigail Adams: argued about government and who would be included in its promises.
Patriots favored independence. Loyalists favored continued connection to Britain. Some people tried to avoid the conflict. African American and Native people made varied choices shaped by their own circumstances; no single person represents an entire group.
Minute Man: people & history ↗Open the built-in event timeline →
Responses stay in this page session. Use Print / save PDF to keep a copy. Do not enter names or private family information.
The accounts differ over responsibility and the behavior of the crowd and soldiers. Perspective does not mean every claim is equally reliable; compare testimony and physical evidence. Revere’s orderly firing line supports a charge of deliberate violence, but trial testimony complicates that scene. The rights response should connect a document’s language to a specific exclusion or challenge.
Success check: The student identifies the source, uses an accurate detail, explains how it supports the claim, and names a limit or unanswered question. Different supported conclusions are welcome.
After independence, Massachusetts farmers faced debts and taxes they struggled to pay. Protests in 1786–1787 became an armed uprising. This short animation introduces a difficult question: how should a new government respond to people who believe they are being treated unfairly?
Open video with its publisher ↗ · Source & teaching context ↗
Hear Longfellow’s poem and follow its words. Notice the rhythm and sound effects. Then compare the poem with a historical account: Revere did not ride alone, and he was stopped before Concord. A dramatic retelling can help us remember an event while changing its details.
Open video with its publisher ↗ · Source & teaching context ↗
