The Boston Massacre March 5, 1770, 9:05 P.M.
                                                                                               
Audience:
Eighth grade or higher
For one group up to 25, two groups simultaneously with two tour guides or back-to-back tours.
1.5-2.0 Hours
Coordinated to your syllabus
 
Objective: 
To actively present the political, emotional and military causes of the Boston Massacre and its subsequent impact in the development of the nation, via a historical walking tour.
 
Materials:
Maps, portraits, copies of original documents provided on tour.  Multiple take home copies upon request. Laminates additional
 
Syllabus:
  • See the 14 tour stops and categories at  http://www.walkbostonhistory.com/the-boston-massacre-tour.html
  • Review acts passed by Parliament specifically to gain control of the Colonies after the French and Indian War
  • The legal systems.  Statutes vs Common Law; how did they differ? 
  • Principles of taxation, subjugation, financial collusion, non-importation, impressment, indenture and servitude
  • Did  billeting  of troops among a civilian population from October 1, 1768 to March 5, 1770, kindle the Massacre?  
  • Was the Massacre a decisive event leading to the American Revolution?
  • Was it the decisive moment that England lost control of its Colonies?
  • The aftermath propels the legal and political careers of individuals that became our Founding Fathers; John and Sam Adams, Robert Tweet Paine, John Hancock and Josiah Quincy, Jr.
  • Post-mortem on the victims and those that survived the legal proceedings
Class  Preparation:
  •  Geography of North America in the early 18th century
  •  Demography of the Thirteen Colonies and the British Empire.
  • Overview a century of war in Europe and England resulting in England's dominance of the seas.
  •  Overview North American and European military history from 1754 to 1770
  •  The French and Indian War; British Soldiers and Colonist successfully fight on the same side, exit with class conflict
  •  An overview of the legal definitions of murder, manslaughter, justifiable homicide and self-defense
      
Lesson Ideas Prior to the Walking Tour for Students:
  • A student can describe, print, draw or make an 18th Century Grenadier uniform & surtout (that  factored in the trial testimony) and describe the Grenadiers specific military application in battle
  • Demonstrate to the class, with a safe device, the military significance and usage of the British bayonet
  • Provide a broad profile of an 18th Century Puritan Bostonian
  • Overview the following servitude practices;
    • Impressment
    • Indenture
    • Apprenticeship                                      
               
Suggested class activity after the Walking Tour
  • If it was not intentional, was it a mistake for the British to send Irish Catholic regiments to Puritan Boston? Answer this question from the viewpoint of an 18th Century Bostonian. Critique it from the 21st Century
  • A biography, post Massacre, on any of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence that participated in the trial of the British soldiers. Provide a brief written or oral report of their future contributions to America​
  • Research and briefly describe the life of the five victims with emphasis on their economic and social status in Colonial Boston
  • Describe the sources used to research all of the above; require several non-internet bibliographies
  • Student(s) provides period newspaper articles, comparing Tory vs Radical press, summarized for the class. Suggest a visit to Edes & Gills Printing Museum; first floor Faneuil Hall. Videos and interviews are possible
  • If you were a member of the jury (in the 18th century) what would be your verdict? Support your conclusion in law or common sense or both  
  • Compare the maturity, from the 18th to the 21st Century, of the laws concerning, murder, manslaughter and justifiable homicide. (for a student interested in law.)
 
Future plans:
  • Reflect on the lessons from the Boston Massacre as you discuss the Tea Party in 1773
  • Compare the mob that ruled Boston on March 5, 1770, with those of the Tea Party
  • Trace the progress of James Otis, Thomas Hutchinson, Samuel Adams, General Thomas Gage or Paul Revere since the Massacre to the beginning of the American Revolution, April 19, 1775.