Towns

VT, USA

Brattleboro

Lesson plans and classroom materials.

Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed

6-8 · 2 class periods

What you'll get

  • 5 primary sources with analysis prompts
  • Quiz with answer key (5 questions)
  • 3 printable handouts
Print full packet
6-82 class periodsCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sourcesCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purposeD2.His.1.6-8: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts

Learning Objectives

  1. Students will describe the land grant dispute that brought New Hampshire Grants settlers into conflict with New York authorities
  2. Students will analyze the Westminster Massacre as a political and legal conflict as well as a violent incident
  3. Students will compare the Westminster Massacre to Lexington and Concord and explain what each reveals about the Revolution's causes
  4. Students will evaluate the language of William French's gravestone inscription as a primary source

Essential Questions

  • Was the American Revolution primarily a conflict with Britain, or was it also a conflict among Americans about who had legitimate authority?
  • Why do some events become famous symbols of a cause while others — equally important — are forgotten?
  • What does a gravestone inscription tell us about how a community understood its own history?

Procedure

Primary Sources

Declaration of Independence of Vermont, January 15, 1777

Vermont State Archives and Records Administration · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

View source

Correspondence of the Governor of New York Concerning the New Hampshire Grants, 1777-1783

New York State Library · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

Journals of the Continental Congress: Vermont Statehood Debates, 1777-1791

Library of Congress · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

View source

State Papers of Vermont, Volume I: General Petitions, 1778-1787

Vermont State Papers Office · PRIMARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

Vermont in Quandary: 1763-1825

Vermont Historical Society (Chilton Williamson) · SECONDARY · Tier 1 — Primary/Academic

Handouts & Materials

Brattleboro Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

Brattleboro in the American Revolution

Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history.

1.

What makes Brattleboro significant in Revolutionary history?

AIt was the site of important Revolutionary events
BIt had no connection to the Revolution
CIt was founded after the Revolution
DIt was a British stronghold throughout the war
2.

Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.

TTrue
FFalse
3.

Name one event that occurred in Brattleboro during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.

4.

Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?

ADifferent people experienced events differently
BIt makes history more confusing
COnly one perspective is ever correct
DPerspectives don't matter in history
5.

Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.