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THE TRIAL

Crispus Attucks (circa 1723 - March 5, 1770), was one 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 killed in the event whose name is commonly remembered. Described as mulatto in contemporary accounts, Attucks was multiracial and possessed African ancestry mixed with Native American and/or white ancestry. In the early 1800s, as the Abolitionist movement gained momentum in Boston, Attucks was lauded as an example of a black person 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.