Why crispus attucks was famous

Although Attucks was credited as the leader and instigator of the event, debate raged for over as century as to whether he was a hero and a patriot, or a rabble-rousing villain. In the murder trial of the soldiers who fired the fatal shots, John Adams, serving as a lawyer for the crown, reviled the "mad behavior" of Attucks, "whose very looks was enough to terrify any person.

As a slave in Framingham, he had been known for his skill in buying and selling cattle. Brown offered a reward for the man's return, and ended with the following admonition: "And all Matters of Vessels and others, are hereby cautioned against concealing or carrying off said Servant on Penalty of Law.

At other times he worked as a ropemaker in Boston. Attucks' occupation made him particularly vulnerable to the presence of the British. After uncovering his actual name, newspapers published a few details about his life, notably his profession, a sailor; his birth in Framingham, Massachusetts; his current residence of New Providence in the Bahamas; and his ship's destination of North Carolina. William Brown of Framingham placed an advertisement to call for the return of a twenty-seven year old escaped enslaved man named "Crispas," described as a six foot two inch "mulatto.

How and when he gained his freedom is unknown, but it is possible that Attucks used the name Michael Johnson to protect himself from a return to slavery. On March 5, , witnesses placed Attucks at the head of a group of sailors brandishing clubs and marching toward King Street. A crowd formed around a small group of British soldiers, hurling snowballs, ice balls, and insults at the men.

Observers noted Attucks leaned his tall frame on his cordwood club. Two musket balls ripped through Attucks chest, killing him instantly. Because Attucks and fellow victim and sailor James Caldwell had no family or home in Boston, their bodies lay in state at Faneuil Hall. As British control over the colonies tightened, tensions escalated between the colonists and British soldiers. Attucks was one of those directly affected by the worsening situation.

Seamen like Attucks constantly lived with the threat they could be forced into the British navy, while back on land, British soldiers regularly took part-time work away from colonists. On March 2, , a fight erupted between a group of Boston rope makers and three British soldiers. The conflict was ratcheted up three nights later when a British soldier looking for work reportedly entered a Boston pub, only to be greeted by furious sailors, one of whom was Attucks.

The details regarding what followed are a source of debate, but that evening, a group of Bostonians approached a guard in front of the customs house and started taunting him. The situation quickly escalated.

When a contingent of British redcoats came to the defense of their fellow soldier, more angry Bostonians joined the fracas, throwing snowballs and other items at the troops. Attucks was one of those at the front of the fight amid dozens of people, and when the British opened fire he was the first of five men killed. His murder made him the first casualty of the American Revolution. Quickly becoming known as the Boston Massacre, the episode further propelled the colonies toward war with the British.

The flames were fanned even more when the eight soldiers involved in the incident and their captain Thomas Preston, who was tried separately from his men, were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. Crispus Attucks continues to be honored by the American public.

In , to commemorate the th anniversary of his birth, the US Mint issued a silver coin in honor of Attucks. Many schools, children centers, foundations and museums are named after him representing the struggle and heroism of a black man searching for freedom. Back to Crispus Attucks Homepage. Who was Crispus Attucks?