A Black and Wampanoag sailor who escaped enslavement, Crispus Attucks was the first man to fall when British troops opened fire on a crowd of disgruntled colonists in Boston, 1770.
Patriots like Paul Revere branded it a massacre, with Attucks being assigned the role of martyr. The real controversy came after the killings. At trial, future president John Adams defended the soldiers by pointing to Attucks’ size and mixed-race background, portraying him as an intimidating threat.