Episode 612 Show Notes- Crispus Attucks, The Boston Massacre, and the Road to Revolution
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Episode Description
Who was Crispus Attucks, and why does his story matter in the fight for American independence? In this episode of America’s Founding Series, Professor Nick Giordano uncovers the true story behind the first martyr of the American Revolution as he separates fact from fiction and explores Attucks’ life, his role in the Boston Massacre, and how his legacy has been shaped over time. From his mixed heritage and life as a sailor to the trial that followed his death, this episode uncovers the forgotten patriot who helped spark a revolution.
Episode Highlights:
- How Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native American descent, became one of the first casualties of the fight for American freedom
- The Boston Massacre’s role in uniting the colonies against British rule, and how Attucks became a revolutionary symbol
- Why John Adams defended the British soldiers and how the trial shaped the narrative of the American Revolution
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Show Notes- Crispus Attucks, The Boston Massacre, and the Road to Revolution
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to America’s Founding Series
01:19 The Story of Crispus Attucks
06:36 Crispus Attucks: A Martyr for Liberty
09:51 The Complexity of History and Legacy
12:17 Ordinary People, Extraordinary Impact
Welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast
[Auto-Generated Transcript]
Welcome to America’s Founding Series, a special feature of The P.A.S. Report Podcast. I’m Professor Nick Giordano, and I am glad you can join me. Make sure you follow and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. Also, be sure to visit The PAS Report website, and share this episode with your family and friends.
Also, keep the feedback coming. It seems a lot of listeners really enjoyed the first episode of the America’s Founding Series, and today, we’re bringing you the story of a forgotten patriot—the man who became the first casualty of the American Revolution: Crispus Attucks. His name is remembered, but do we really know who he was? Was he a hero, a rebel, or just an ordinary man caught in the chaos of history? And what can we learn from his story today?
Boston, 1770. The streets are tense, the air thick with anger. British soldiers walk among the people, their red coats a glaring reminder of who is really in charge and that the colonies are not free.
And in the middle of this growing storm is a man named Crispus Attucks. Some of you may have heard of him, many have not. But Attucks represents why history can be difficult at times, because Attucks lived a life that history has struggled to fully uncover.
Attucks was no wealthy landowner, no famous statesman. He was a laborer, a sailor, and by many accounts, a man who understood struggle firsthand. He was of mixed race – African and Native American, possibly Wampanoag. He was a man who had no voice in the system yet found himself at the heart of one of the most important moments in American history and that’s one of the aspects that makes his story so remarkable.
Some believe he may have been an escaped slave, but records are unclear. The only evidence we have to support that is an advertisement in the Boston Gazette from 1750. William Brown of Framingham, MA placed an advertisement in the Boston Gazette offering a reward for the return of a “runaway” enslaved person named “Crispas,” described as a 27-year-old, 6-foot-2-inch “mulatto” with short, curly hair. Now, we have no way of knowing if this is the same Crispus, but it matches the timeframe, and the physical description of Attucks.
What we do know for sure is that for over a decade, he worked as a sailor and dockworker, moving between Boston and the surrounding ports.
In those days, the Boston was a powder keg. Tensions were rising, and British troops had been sent to ‘keep order,’ but instead, they became symbols of occupation. The economy was struggling, people were finding it difficult to make a living. British soldiers and laborers were at a breaking point, and in the taverns and streets, people spoke of rebellion. And on the night of March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks found himself at the center of it all.
What was he doing there? Some say he led the crowd. Others say he was just passing through. What we do know is that he stood at the front of the group as colonists confronted British soldiers outside the Custom House. Insults were thrown, objects were hurled, and then gunfire rang out. Attucks was the first to fall, struck in the chest by British bullets. He never knew that his death would be remembered as the spark of a revolution.
In the days that followed, colonial leaders seized upon the moment. Paul Revere created his famous engraving of the Boston Massacre, depicting the soldiers as ruthless executioners and the colonists as defenseless victims. But history is more complicated. In truth, the event was chaotic, both sides were on edge, and I don’t think anyone knows who fired the first shot. Even John Adams, future president, would later defend the British soldiers in court, arguing that they acted in self-defense. But the damage was already done, and history was being made. The massacre became a rallying cry, and Crispus Attucks became a symbol.
Break
Crispus Attucks: The Legacy of an Ordinary Man
Crispus Attucks never saw what came next. He never saw the Boston Tea Party, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or the war that would follow. But his death had meaning. In death, he became larger than life. A martyr for liberty, even as he had lived in a world that denied him its full benefits.
The irony cannot be ignored: one of the first to die for the cause of American freedom was a man who, in many ways, had never fully experienced it. Reports have it that Attucks was of African and Native American descent, with some accounts suggesting his parents were Prince Yonger, an enslaved man from Africa, and Nancy Attucks, a Native American woman. At the time he was not seen as an equal in the eyes of the law.
Yet, he was the first to spill his blood for the idea of liberty. His story reminds us that history is not as simple as heroes and villains that so many like to make it out to be. To often, history is oversimplified, but let’s face it, history is complicated, and just like policy, there is this enormous gray area that history operates in.
History is often about people. Ordinary folks like you and I who may get thrown into extraordinary circumstances. Think back to 9/11 and all the stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Do you think they woke up that morning with the intent on becoming heroes?
But before his legacy was fully cemented, there was a trial. And it was a trial that tells us a great deal about how history is shaped. John Adams, the future second president of the United States, was the lawyer who defended the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. It was a bold move, and it nearly destroyed his career. But Adams believed that law and justice had to prevail, no matter how unpopular his defense might be. He argued that the soldiers acted in self-defense, that the crowd had been aggressive, that men like Attucks had incited the chaos. And in the end, most of the soldiers were acquitted.
“It’s fascinating to think about how different perspectives shape our understanding of history. In that courtroom, Crispus Attucks was painted as a reckless agitator, someone who had stirred the mob into violence. But in the court of public opinion, he became a martyr. Which version of history is true? The answer is complex, because history itself is complex. The reality is that Attucks was a working man, frustrated with British rule, part of a city that was boiling over with tension. He was one of many who were fed up, who felt powerless, and in that moment on King Street, he made a choice to stand in defiance.
But how did the world remember him? How did his legacy evolve over time? Initially, his name was not universally celebrated. In fact, after the American Revolution, many of the founding figures of the new nation, men who had been quick to use the Boston Massacre as propaganda, did not continue to celebrate Attucks’ role in history. He was not included in the pantheon of early American heroes. Why? Because the new republic was still deeply entangled with the contradictions of slavery despite his contribution to the American Revolution.
However, Attucks’ story would not disappear. His memory was revived by abolitionists in the 19th century, who saw in him a powerful symbol of black resistance to oppression. Frederick Douglass and other abolitionist leaders invoked his name, reminding Americans that the fight for freedom had always been diverse, that men of all races had sacrificed for the cause. Later, during the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century, Attucks’ name became even more prominent.
But here’s what makes his story even more powerful, Attucks wasn’t a military general. He wasn’t a politician. He wasn’t a wealthy merchant funding the revolution. He was a common laborer, an everyday man who found himself in a moment that changed history. He didn’t know that his death would be written into the story of American independence. But it was, and that’s where we find the deeper lesson.
History is filled with moments where ordinary people change the course of events, often without realizing it. Attucks had no idea that he would be remembered centuries later, and I wonder, if he knew he was going to get shot and killed that night, would he have stood in front of the crowd? Was it fate? Was it his destiny? Who knows. The fact remains that he is one of the, if not the, first casualty of the American Revolution, and he deserves to be celebrated and recognized.
Too often, we think that history is shaped only by those in power, by kings, presidents, or military leaders. But that’s not true. History is built by the people whose names we often don’t remember. It’s shaped by the choices made in moments that, at the time, may seem insignificant. A dockworker standing in the streets of Boston could not have known that he would be remembered centuries later. But he was. And in that, there is an important truth for all of us.
And that’s the truth that we all need to hear: you don’t have to be famous, powerful, or wealthy to make an impact. You don’t have to know exactly where you’re going or what you’re doing to have a purpose. Sometimes, our greatest contributions to history, our most important acts, are ones we never see the full results of.
We live in a time when so many young Americans feel lost. They wonder if their lives have meaning, if their voices matter. And the answer is yes. Because history is not always made by the people that society deems important. It’s made by people like Crispus Attucks. It’s made by laborers, workers, teachers, parents, students, and neighbors. People who, through small acts of courage, shape the world in ways they may never fully understand.
So, if you take one thing away from this episode, let it be this: You have a purpose. Your actions matter. And just like Crispus Attucks, even if the world doesn’t always recognize it, what you do today may echo for generations to come.
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