#26 - Boston Massacre

⭐ Instructional Goal:

I am learning what happened during the Boston Massacre and how bias in documents and images can change the way we understand history.

Essential Questions:

How can two people see the same event but tell the story differently?
How does bias in news, social media, or community conflicts affect the way we think?

📘 Focus Vocabulary

Bias – When someone favors one side more than the other.
Aggressor – The person or group who starts the violence.

#3 Propaganda – Images or messages made to influence how people think or feel.

What was the The Boston Massacre?

The Boston Massacre was a violent event that happened on March 5, 1770, when a group of angry colonists confronted British soldiers in Boston.

The crowd shouted insults, threw snowballs, and pushed toward the soldiers, who felt threatened and confused.

In the chaos, the soldiers fired their guns into the crowd, killing five colonists. This event made many colonists even more angry at Britain and helped push the colonies closer to the American Revolution.

The best single Central Idea for the passage provided is:

A - The fight started when colonists were angry and attacked the British soldiers. The colonists yelled and threw things, which made the soldiers feel in danger.

B - The soldiers shot their guns and killed five people. Because of the chaos, the soldiers fired into the crowd.

C - The killings made the colonists much angrier at Britain and helped start the American Revolution. This event showed the colonists how cruel the King's army could be.

CRISPUS ATTUCKS

Who looks like the aggressor?
Colonist or British Soldiers?

Primary Source
After the Boston Massacre in 1770

Captain Thomas Preston’s Deposition
Commander of the 29th British Regiment

The mob still increased and were more outrageous, striking their clubs or bludgeons one against another, and calling out,
"Come on you rascals, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels, fire if you dare, fire and be damned, fire g-d damn you, we know you dare not"
and much more such language was used.

At this time I was between the soldiers and the mob… endeavoring all in my power to persuade them and retire peaceably…

While I was thus speaking, one of the soldiers having received a severe blow with a stick, stepped a little on one side and instantly fired, on which turning to and asking him why he fired without orders.

I was struck with a club on my arm, which for some time deprived me of the use of it, which blow had it been placed on my head, most probably would have destroyed me.

Student Questions

Who is telling the story in this passage?

According to Captain Preston, who is acting like the aggressor:

the mob or the soldiers?

Overall, how does Captain Preston describe the mob’s behavior?

A) Calm and peaceful
B) Confused but harmless
C) Loud, threatening, and violent
D) Quiet and respectful

#4 - Do you think the author is taking a side? YES or NO
Which side? British or Colonist
Why do you think that?

Simplified Version of Captain Preston’s Deposition

Captain Preston says that the crowd of colonists kept getting bigger and angrier. They were hitting their clubs together and shouting insults at the British soldiers, daring them to fire their guns.

Preston stood between the soldiers and the crowd, trying to calm everyone down and make the colonists leave peacefully. While he was talking, one soldier was hit hard with a stick and then fired his gun.

Preston says he was also hit with a club on his arm and that if it hit his head, it could have killed him.

1. Who is telling the story in this passage?

2. What was the crowd doing that made the situation dangerous?

3. What was Captain Preston trying to do?

4. Why did the soldier fire his gun?

5. What happened to Captain Preston?

Image Analyses - Bias Skills

Image #1 Passport Page 152

Image #2 (Page 153)

⭐ Image Comparison Questions (Bias Focus)

1. What is the first image trying to make you feel about the British soldiers? How can you tell?

(Look for clues like smoke, straight shooting lines, peaceful colonists, etc.)

2. What is the second image trying to make you feel about the colonists? How can you tell?

(Look for clues like raised weapons, angry faces, attacking first, etc.)

3. Which group looks like the aggressor in the first image? Which group looks like the aggressor in the second image?

(Artists often choose who “starts” the violence.)

4. What details are added or removed in each image that might show the artist’s bias?

(e.g., peaceful versus violent crowd, Crispus Attucks shown bravely or threateningly)

5. Why do you think these two pictures of the same event look so different?

(Think about Patriot propaganda vs. Loyalist perspective.)

6. Which image seems more dramatic or emotional? Why might the artist want to show it this way?

(Propaganda tries to persuade.)

7. Which image makes the colonists look innocent? Which one makes them look dangerous?

(Students identify the artist’s viewpoint.)

8. If you lived in 1770, which image would make you more angry? Why?

(This helps students understand the power of biased media.)

⭐ Short Comparison Task (One Sentence Each)

9. One sentence: What message is the first image trying to send?

10. One sentence: What message is the second image trying to send?

⭐ Bias Conclusion Question

11. Which image do you think is more biased? Explain your thinking using one detail from the picture.

More Images

Context is all the background information you need to fully understand something, like the setting, history, and people around an idea .

Vice President Harris means that to understand a student, you must look at their whole context—including their family, community, and history—because no one lives completely alone.

She states that supporting young people also requires considering the needs of their parents, grandparents, teachers, and communities, as no one lives in a silo

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