wo different accounts of the 1770 Boston Massacre and the Declaration of Independence

Guidelines for Part 1 of the Unit 1 Exam:

For Part 1 of the Unit 2 Exam, read the three documents attached above (two different accounts of the 1770 Boston Massacre and the Declaration of Independence) and examine the two images located below and attached above. Using the documents, the images, and the textbook, write an essay answering the questions listed below. Grades will be based on the content of the answer and must be more than 400 words in length. Direct quotes do not count toward the required word count.

Part 1 Questions: 

1. In Document 1 and Document 2, what are the primary differences in how each author described this event? Why do you think each author chose to describe the event in that way?

2. What elements of Image 1 reinforce the account from Document 1? How do you think this imagery affected Bostonians and other American colonists? Why?

3. What message did Benjamin Franklin hope to convey with the phrase, “Join, or Die” and Image 2? Why did that message become even more relevant during the 1770s?

4. Why do you think Image 1 and Image 2 became important pieces of propaganda for American Patriots? In want ways do you see the messages conveyed by these images reflected in the Declaration of Independence (Document 3)?