First Martyr of Liberty
Department
History
Document Type
Book
Files
Description
First Martyr of Liberty explores how Crispus Attucks's death in the 1770 Boston Massacre led to his achieving mythic significance in African Americans' struggle to incorporate their experiences and heroes into the mainstream of the American historical narrative. While the other victims of the Massacre have been largely ignored, Attucks is widely celebrated as the first to die in the cause of freedom during the era of the American Revolution. He became a symbolic embodiment of black patriotism and citizenship.
This book traces Attucks's career through both history and myth to understand how his public memory has been constructed through commemorations and monuments; institutions and organizations bearing his name; juvenile biographies; works of poetry, drama, and visual arts; popular and academic histories; and school textbooks. There will likely never be a definitive biography of Crispus Attucks since so little evidence exists about the man's actual life. While what can and cannot be known about Attucks is addressed here, the focus is on how he has been remembered--variously as either a hero or a villain--and why at times he has been forgotten by different groups and individuals from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Call number in WMU's library
E185.97.A86 K33 2017
ISBN
978-0199731619
Publication Date
7-2017
Publisher
Oxford University Press
City
Oxford
Disciplines
History
Citation for published book
Kachun, Mitchell A. First Martyr of Liberty : Crispus Attucks in American Memory / Mitch Kachun. 2017. Print.
Recommended Citation
Kachun, Mitch, "First Martyr of Liberty" (2017). All Books and Monographs by WMU Authors. 689.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/books/689