The American Revolution was more than just a war between the colonies and Great Britain—it was a battle for ideals that would grow to shape the future of an entire nation. The struggle for independence from British rule ignited a fervor among colonists who sought freedom from oppressive taxation, military occupation, and the erosion of their rights. With that said, this broader fight for freedom had a massive contradiction at its core: slavery and racial inequality in a movement that not just advocated but championed freedom.
This paradox is exemplified in the story of Crispus Attucks, a Black man who became one of the first martyrs of the American Revolution and the man who, arguably, started it all. On March 5, 1770, the British soldiers of the 29th Regiment fired two musket balls into his chest, killing him on the spot. The soldiers also killed four other men who accompanied Crispus Attucks in an event that’s now known as the Boston Massacre. This event also transformed Attucks from a mere sailor into a martyr for a rapidly growing revolutionary case.
The life of Crispus Attucks is far less documented than his death, leaving much of his story shrouded in uncertainty. Historical accounts — many of which lack definitive verification — suggest that Attucks was of African and Native American descent, born into slavery in Framingham, Massachusetts, around 1723. Some records indicate he was enslaved by Deacon William Brown. During the colonial era, enslavers often imposed Ancient Roman names on the enslaved, and Attucks is believed to have shared the name “Crispus” with the son of Roman Emperor Constantine.
This name also appeared in a Boston Gazette ad that called for a return of a 27-year-old escaped enslaved mulatto man named “Crispas.” It would seem that, at one point, Crispus managed to escape the shackles, and his successful escape led him to Boston, where he became a sailor — one of few trades open to a non-white person. He labored on whaling ships when at sea and as a rope-maker on land. And so it happens that, on the day of his death, Attucks returned to Boston from the Bahamas and was on his way to North Carolina.
In the meantime, by the late 1760s, the resentment towards British rule had intensified, fueled by the aforementioned imposition of high taxes and the presence of British troops in port cities. However, what really bothered the sailors wasn’t the British troops acting as enforcers of oppression but rather as a competitive workforce. This happened because the British were paying their soldiers so poorly that many of them had to take part-time jobs when they were off-duty. Not only that, but the British Parliament also demanded that sailors be drafted into the Royal Navy.
Of course, this didn’t sit well with the sailors, and the unrest between them and the British soldiers grew. And this is where the story loses its coherence. Some say that the apprentice wigmaker wrongfully accused a British soldier of not paying his bill, so the colonists threw snowballs and debris at them. According to some sources, Attucks and his group of friends approached the commotion armed with clubs and sticks, and some witnesses even say that Attucks struck one of the soldiers. Others say that he was simply leaning upon a stick when the soldiers opened fire.
Other sources say that Attucks was drinking at a pub with other sailors when a British soldier wandered in and inquired about a part-time job. And it was Attucks and other patrons who cursed the solder and harassed him until he fled the establishment. This all leads to the events previously described, where Attucks was the one who attacked the soldier and grabbed his rifle, but the soldier regained control of his weapon and shot Attucks.
Subsequent investigations into the details of the Boston Massacre refer to Attucks as Michael Johnson, which could be the name he used as an international alias he used while at sea. Also, contemporary sources don’t identify Attucks as a slave or formerly enslaved, so the question of how and when he gained his freedom remains unanswered. However, using the name Michael Johnson could indicate that he adopted that name to protect himself from a return to slavery.
Those responsible for the Massacre were acquitted of their chargers, and John Adams did everything he could to paint Attucks and the rest of his friends as aggressors, trying to justify the soldiers’ actions. And he played right into the jury’s prejudices about race and class. It wasn’t until some 30 years later that Attucks would be recognized as the first martyr of the American Revolution. Black Bostonians continue to commemorate the anniversary of his death — March 5 is officially recognized as Crispus Attucks Day, and this tradition continues to this very day.