Crispus Attucks

Crispus Attucks (c. 1723 – March 5, 1770), was the first of five people killed in the Boston Massacre. He has been frequently named as the first martyr for the cause of American Independence and is the only person of the five killed whose name is commonly remembered. Public domain photo. ... Public domain photo. ... Events February 16 - Louis XV of France attains his majority Births February 24 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. ... This article is about the day. ... For the village in Queensland, see 1770, Queensland. ... Engraving by Paul Revere that sold widely in the colonies The Boston Massacre was an incident involving the deaths of five American civilians at the hands of British troops on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the American Revolutionary War. ... For other uses, see Martyr (disambiguation). ... This article is about military actions only. ...

Described as mulatto in contemporary accounts, Attucks was of African ancestry mixed with either or both African American and white ancestry. Mulatto (Spanish mulato, small mule, person of mixed race, mulatto, from mulo, mule, from Old Spanish, from Latin mūlus. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Whites redirects here. ...

In the early 1800s, as the Abolitionist movement gained momentum in Boston, Attucks was lauded as an example of a black American who played a heroic role in the history of the United States. In 1858, Boston-area Abolitionists established "Crispus Attucks Day." In 1888, a monument honoring him was erected on Boston Common. This article is about the abolition of slavery. ... Boston redirects here. ... Though most indigenous Africans possess relatively dark skin, they exhibit much variation in physical appearance. ... Image:Boston common Boston Massachusetts USA.jpg Boston Common in 2005, with the State House looming in the background 1890 Map of Boston Common and the adjacent Public Garden View of the Water Celebration, on Boston Common, October 25th 1848 Boston Common Engraving For the television series, see Boston Common...

Because slavery and racial discrimination were conditions of life in the 18th century, few accounts of black American heroes from that era survive to the present. Although little therefore is known about Crispus Attucks’s personal life or motives, he remains an important and inspirational figure in American history. Slave redirects here. ... An African-American drinks out of a water fountain marked for colored in 1939 at a street car terminal in Oklahoma City. ...

Because Crispus Attucks may also have had Wampanoag Indian ancestors, his story also holds special significance for many Native Americans. Controversy remains about whether Attucks was a revolutionary leader or simply a rabble rouser; he may have been both. The Wampanoag (Wôpanâak in the Wampanoag language) are a Native American people. ...

What is known

On March 5, 1770, a crowd of colonists gathered and confronted a group of British about an incident earlier that day in which a soldier struck a boy who confronted him over non-payment of a barber bill. A boy visiting a barber A barber (from the Latin barba, beard) is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. ...

This chromolithograph by John Pufford after William L. Champey, ca. 1856, of the Boston Massacre prominently features a black man believed to be Crispus Attucks.

As anger escalated, a churchbell was struck (as it would in case of fire or other emergency), drawing people out of their homes. The British soldiers of the Twenty-ninth Regiment were called to duty in response. Townspeople began hurling snowballs and debris at the soldiers. A group of men led by Attucks approached the vicinity of the government building (now known as the Old State House) with clubs in hand. Image File history File links Boston_massacre2. ... Image File history File links Boston_massacre2. ... Engraving by Paul Revere that sold widely in the colonies The Boston Massacre was an incident involving the deaths of five American civilians at the hands of British troops on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the American Revolutionary War. ... Church bell from Saleby, Västergötland, Sweden containing an inscription from 1228 in the Runic alphabet A church bell is a bell which is rung in a (especially Christian) church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding... // Early History The 29th Regiment of Foot was raised in 1694 by Colonel Thomas Farrington, an officer of the Coldstream Guards during War of the Grand Alliance known in America as King Williams War. ... East Front showing the balcony from which the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston took place. ...

Violence soon erupted and a soldier was struck with a thrown piece of wood. Some accounts named Attucks as the person responsible. Others witnesses stated that Attucks was "leaning upon a stick" when the soldiers opened fire.

Three Americans were killed and two were mortally wounded. Court documents state that Attucks was the first one killed and that he took two bullets in the chest. Attucks’s body was carried to Faneuil Hall where it lay in state until March 8 when he and the other victims were buried together. Recent studies, however, suggest that Samuel Gray may have been the first one killed. ^{[citation needed]} Faneuil Hall, near the waterfront and todays Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. ...

Based on the premise of self-defense, John Adams successfully defended the British soldiers against a charge of murder. Two of the soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. In his arguments, Adams called the crowd: For other persons named John Adams, see John Adams (disambiguation). ...

"a motley rabble of saucy boys, negros and molattoes, Irish teagues and outlandish jack tarrs"^[1] For an island of the Philippines, see Negros. ... Taig (also Teague) is a slang term used by some in Scotland and Northern Ireland to refer to Irish Roman Catholics. ... Jack Tar was the common Englishmans affectionate name for the sailors of the Royal Navy during the time of the British Empire. ...

Samuel Adams, a cousin of John Adams who held civil disobedience in higher regard, gave the event the name of the Boston Massacre two years later and helped assure that it would not be forgotten. Boston artist Henry Pelham (half-brother of the celebrated portrait painter John Singleton Copley) created an image of the event. Paul Revere made a copy of the image from which prints were made and distributed. Some copies of the print show a man with two chest wounds and dark face who is assumed to be Crispus Attucks. Other copies of the print show no difference in the skin tone of the victims. For other uses, see Samuel Adams (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Civil disobedience (disambiguation). ... Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ... For the song by the Beastie Boys, see Paul Revere (song). ...

The five who were killed were buried as heroes in the Granary Burying Ground. (Which contains the graves of John Hancock and other notable figures - behind Boston's Old City Hall) Law and custom of the period prohibited the burial of black people and white people together, which suggests that Attucks was considered mulatto rather than black. Granary Burying Ground. ...

Clues that may be relevant

As mentioned above, few facts are known about Crispus Attucks prior to his involvement with the Boston Massacre. The name “Crispus” is mentioned in some records from the period that might be relevant, but this was a fairly common name and to connect these records to Crispus Attucks of the Boston Massacre is speculation.

An October 2, 1750, advertisement placed in the Boston Gazette read: The Boston Gazette was an early newspaper printed in the British North American colonies; it began publication December 12, 1719 and appeared weekly. ...

...ran away from his Master William Brown on the 30th of Sept. last, a mulatto Fellow, about 27 years of age, named Crispus, 6 Feet two inches high, short curl'd Hair, his Knees near together than common: had on a light colour'd Bearskin Coat.^[2]

Master William Brown offered a reward of £10 for his return. Given the lack of evidence to the contrary, this passage is often associated with Crispus Attucks of the Boston Massacre.^[2]

An Indian named John Attucks was executed for treason in 1676 during King Philip's War. In the 1700s, the surname “Attucks” was used by some Praying Indians around Natick and Framingham. This surname is believed to be an Anglicisation of the Wôpanââk word ahtuk meaning deer^[3] For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... Attack King Philips War, sometimes called Metacoms War or Metacoms Rebellion,[1] was an armed conflict between Indian inhabitants of present-day southern New England and English colonists and their Indian allies from 1675–1676. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... 17th century term refering to Native Americans of New England who converted to Christianity. ... Natick Common, Halloween 2004 Natick (IPA Pronounciation ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1650 Incorporated 1700 Government  - Type Representative town meeting Area  - Town  26. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Massachusett language was a Native American language, a member of the Algonquian language family. ... This article is about the ruminant animal. ...

Native people and Black people frequently had children together in Colonial times as evidenced by accounts from early periods and by the prevalence today of African phenotypes among Indian tribal groups in New England and other long-established multiracial groups in the Eastern United States. This leads to speculation that Attucks was a mixture of black and Amerindian.^[4] This article is about the colonial history of the United States. ... Individuals in the mollusk species Donax variabilis show diverse coloration and patterning in their phenotypes. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Native Americans redirects here. ...

His legend

The above-mentioned clues and other circumstantial evidence of the period have given rise to speculation which has, over many decades, become much-repeated folk-history. For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ...

In popular versions of his narrative, Attucks was born to an Africa-born black slave father named Prince Yonger and a Native American mother named Nancy Attucks who was from either the Natick-Framingham area of Middlesex County just west of Boston or from the island of Nantucket south of Cape Cod. He grew up in the household of Colonel Buckminster, his father’s master, until sold to Deacon William Brown of Framingham. Unhappy with his situation, he escaped and became a ropemaker, a manual laborer and/or a whaler. His quarrel with the British soldiers on March 5, 1770 was righteous indignation regarding the effect of the Townshend Acts on the local economy as well as the incidents that had taken place earlier that day. Middlesex County is a county located in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. ... Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, formed of glacial moraine. ... This article is about the area of Massachusetts known as Cape Cod. For other uses, see Cape Cod (disambiguation). ... A whaler (or whale catcher) is a specialized kind of ship, designed for catching whales. ... The Townshend Acts (1767) passed by Parliament on June 29 1767, refer to two Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1767, which were proposed by Charles Townshend. ...

His legacy

Besides the recognition given to Attucks by the abolitionists described above, Attucks has often been praised in writing meant to inspire Americans to work towards the ideals of freedom and racial equality. This article needs cleanup. ...

In the poetry of John Boyle O'Reilly he was described as "leader and voice that day; The first to defy, and the first to die...riot or revolution, or mob or crowd as you may, such deaths have been seeds of nations." John Boyle OReilly John Boyle OReilly (28 June 1844–10 August 1890) was an Irish-born poet and novelist. ...

Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to Crispus Attucks in the introduction of Why We Can't Wait (1964) as an example of a man whose contribution to history, though much-overlooked by standard histories, could be revered as a source of moral courage. Martin Luther King redirects here. ...

One author wrote this stirring testimony to Attucks’s significance:

"He is one of the most important figures in African-American history, not for what he did for his own race but for what he did for all oppressed people everywhere. He is a reminder that the African-American heritage is not only African but American and it is a heritage that begins with the beginning of America."^[5]

Places named for Crispus Attucks include the Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, Virginia Crispus Attucks High School of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana was named for Crispus Attucks (c. ... Indianapolis redirects here. ... The Attucks Theatre, located in Norfolk, Virginia, was financed, designed and constructed by African American entrepreneurs in 1919. ... Motto: Crescas (Latin for, Thou shalt grow. ...

he is buried in the Granary Burying Grounds in Boston along with the other victims of the Boston Massacre and many other famous people.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• John Adams went on to become the 2nd President of the United States. His son, John Quincy Adams, who served as the 6th President of the United States, was an abolitionist, an opponent of slaveholders and the lawyer who successfully defended the black Africans claimed as property by owners of the Spanish schooner Amistad.

• In 1888, leaders of both the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society opposed the creation of the Crispus Attucks memorial on Boston Common. Today, both organizations use Crispus Attucks’s name to foster interest in black history and genealogy.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was a diplomat, politician, and the sixth President of the United States (March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829). ... The Slave Power was the term used in the Northern United States in the period 1840-1865 to describe the political power of the slaveholding class in the South. ... Holding The “AFRICANS” are free, and are remanded to be released; Lt. ... The Massachusetts Historical Society is a a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. ... The New England Historic Genealogical Society, also known as NEHGS, is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. ... Genealogy (from Greek: γενεα, genea, family; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...

Notes

1. ^ The Murder of Crispus Attucks
2. ^ ^{a b} Africa Within
3. ^ [1] This site mentions the origin of the name "Attucks" based upon a 19th century source. Many supposed entymologies based on Native American languages from around this period have since proven unfounded.
4. ^ Africa Within
5. ^ Neyland, James, Crispus Attucks, Patriot, Holloway House Pub Co., 1995

Not to be confused with Entomology, the scientific study of insects. ...

References

• Africans in America biography
• The Murder of Crispus Attucks Library of Congress exhibit, including trial documents.
• Trial Documents at Framingham.com
• Crispus Attucks at AfricaWithin.com
• Crispus Attucks Association, Inc.
• Africans in America at PBS.org

SPC All Day