How the Boston Massacre Began a Series of Propaganda Influences That Benefited Political Gains

Eric Sweetwood

Pontiac Township High School

Summer 2005

Paul Revere. "The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5, 1770." Boston: 1770. Engraving. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (38)

Overview/ State Standards /Resources/Procedures/Evaluation/Extenstions

In this day of political gains through the use of media and political rhetoric, students should understand the power of speech that is stirring and images that are meant to influence. Often times, students do not question political commentaries, and are more than willing to accept ideologies without questioning relevance and accuracy.

Using the Boston Massacre as a starting point, students will explore how rhetoric and propaganda have influenced the interpretation of history and begin to unravel some of “history’s mysteries” by evaluation the impact of the Boston Massacre as well as the messages of such modern politically charged media such as sensational trials, political cartoons, talk radio, and oral histories. Students will also explore accurate descriptions of historical events as well as taking a critical look at social and political commentary.

The goal of this lesson plan is to teach students to critically look at various media sources when discovering “factual” history. Noting obvious biases of various media can cause disruptions in the discovery of the “truth” as well as influence the outcome of events. Students will also have an opportunity to use various media choices that they might otherwise be unfamiliar with in their usual course of study. Activities will center on self- examination of influences and the power of the media on historical “truths.”

Overview Back to Navigation Bar Objectives Student will:  Explore documentation of the Boston Massacre and documents associated with it.

An Adventure of the American Mind Illinois State University 2 How the Boston Massacre Began a Series of Propaganda Influences That Benefited Political Gains

 Analyze political cartoons to notice biases and political leaning of various newspapers and publishers.  Analyze War Posters to note various levels of propaganda.  Explore sensational trials such as the Sacco/Vanzetti case.  Compare and contrast various “news channels” and their various views of current events.  Research an event in United States history of their choice and create a visual aid (chart and/or poster) which shows contrasting views and how the influence of propaganda has changed since the time of the Boston Massacre.  Share their views verbally and in the form of a written essay that shows how their opinions may or may not have been tainted by the propaganda presented and how the power of propaganda can influence the actions of the government or the actions of the citizens and the social impact of the history of the event.  Discuss their views of historical events and how the information found by their peers may have caused them to reexamine historical documentation as shown through biases and propaganda.

Recommended time frame 5 days Grade level 11th Curriculum fit Social Science Resources  Image and Resource Table  Cartoon Analysis  Documents Analysis  Artifact Analysis  Photograph Analysis

Illinois State Learning Standards Back to Navigation Bar Social Sciences: GOAL 14: Understand political systems, with an emphasis on the United States.  14. D. Understand the roles and influences of individuals and interest groups in the political systems of Illinois, The United States and other nations.  14. F. Understand The development of United States political ideas and traditions. GOAL 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and

movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations.  16. A. Apply the skills of historical analysis and interpretation.  16. B. Understand the development of significant political events.  16. D. Understand Illinois, United States, and world social history. GOAL 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.  18. B. Understand the roles and interaction of individuals and groups in society.

Procedures Back to Navigation Bar Prerequisite Student Skills:  Ability to research on the Internet  Ability to critically analyze a topic  Ability to generate an interest in a somewhat controversial issue  Oral communication skills

Day One:  Present documents from the Library of Congress on The Boston Massacre and the commentaries about it. o Jefferson Manuscript o Accont of the Boston Massacre o Boston Massacre General Information  Looking critically at the rhetoric as espoused by the likes of Hancock and Samuel Adams, as well as Revere’s popular engraving of the events, students will be able to compare the “common” version of the “massacre” with a more historical version of it by looking at the trial notes of John Adams in his defense of the British Soldiers.

Day Two:  Students will be able to look at various political cartoons found at the Library of Congress as well as viewing various clips from news channels and/or listen to commentaries by talk show radio personalities to be exposed to various media viewpoints. o Image and Resource Table An Adventure of the American Mind Illinois State University 4 How the Boston Massacre Began a Series of Propaganda Influences That Benefited Political Gains

 As often as possible, students will find more than one opinion of a current topic. Students will then pick a controversial topic from Modern United States History.  Topics can include but are not limited to Viet Nam War, Iraqi War, Watergate, Clinton Affair, The Red Scare, Political War Posters, JFK Assassination, Kent State, Civil War battles as told by the North and South, Supreme Court Cases, and more.

Propaganda Worksheet Analysis Worksheet.  Cartoon Analysis  Documents Analysis  Artifact Analysis  Photograph Analysis

Day Three:  Create a chart/poster that shows contrasting views of the subject matter chosen on day two and present the chart/poster to the others in the class. Various Media (printed such as commentaries/editorials/ political cartoons may be used and/or direct quotes from other forms of news medias such as news shows and comments from films) are to be utilized.

Day Four:  Present a two to three page document which outlines the influences of propaganda on the historical event.  The student will be expected to decipher how the various forms of propaganda has altered or influenced the event and then examine the implications of how the event is recorded

Day Five:  Closing discussion of what they have learned from these sessions and how their views of historical events may have been influenced and if that influence has changed or been altered.

Materials/ Hardware/ Software:  Books and Articles on Boston Massacre  Television clips from Media Sources (such as Hannity and

Colmes)  Websites  Poster Board  Computers and printers to print out documents and graphics  Book publishing materials for their presentations Evaluation Back to Navigation Bar Assessment/ Evaluation:  Student posters  Students written assessments  Discussions over one another’s work  Ability to share feelings on other student’s projects (peer editing)  Critical examination through commentaries of various forms of propaganda  Rubric

Extensions Back to Navigation Bar  Read Satirical works such as Al Frankin or Rush Limbaugh  Add activities as they come up in discussions  Re-examine future historical accounts with a more balanced eye and view.

 Revisit the presentations of the students when the history topics they chose come up in class—since this is an early project, the students’ work can be represented or recounted when the subjects of the various time periods come up in the content and context of the survey of United States History course.

An Adventure of the American Mind Illinois State University