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History is for Everyone · American Revolution Network

Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed

Brattleboro, VT

Grade Range: 6-8·Duration: 2 class periods

This lesson uses the Westminster Massacre of March 13, 1775 to challenge students's assumptions about where and how the American Revolution began. By examining an event that preceded Lexington and Concord by five weeks — caused not by British regulars but by a colonial sheriff's posse — students explore the Revolution as a conflict about local authority, land rights, and self-governance, not only as a war against Britain.

This Packet Includes

  • Lesson Plan & Learning Objectives
  • 5 Primary Source Analysis Worksheets
  • 3 Student Handouts
  • Assessment Quiz (5 questions)
  • Answer Key (Teacher Copy)
  • Standards Alignment
Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Lesson Overview
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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  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

Keep these questions in mind throughout the unit:

  • 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?
Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
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Primary Source 1 of 5
Document Information
Document:Declaration of Independence of Vermont, January 15, 1777
Source:Vermont State Archives and Records Administration
Type:PRIMARY
Credibility:TIER1
Declaration of Independence of Vermont, January 15, 1777

Declaration of Independence of Vermont, January 15, 1777

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to the events in Brattleboro, VT? What does it reveal about the people involved?

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 2 of 5
Document Information
Document:Correspondence of the Governor of New York Concerning the New Hampshire Grants, 1777-1783
Source:New York State Library
Type:PRIMARY
Credibility:TIER1

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to the events in Brattleboro, VT? What does it reveal about the people involved?

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 3 of 5
Document Information
Document:Journals of the Continental Congress: Vermont Statehood Debates, 1777-1791
Source:Library of Congress
Type:PRIMARY
Credibility:TIER1
Journals of the Continental Congress: Vermont Statehood Debates, 1777-1791

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

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to the events in Brattleboro, VT? What does it reveal about the people involved?

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 4 of 5
Document Information
Document:State Papers of Vermont, Volume I: General Petitions, 1778-1787
Source:Vermont State Papers Office
Type:PRIMARY
Credibility:TIER1

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What was happening when this was written?

  5. How might the author's position affect their account?

Reflection

How does this source connect to the events in Brattleboro, VT? What does it reveal about the people involved?

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:
Primary Source 5 of 5
Document Information
Document:Vermont in Quandary: 1763-1825
Source:Vermont Historical Society (Chilton Williamson)
Type:SECONDARY
Credibility:TIER1

Analysis Questions

Read the document carefully, then answer each question in complete sentences.

  1. Who created this source and why?

  2. When was this source created?

  3. What perspective does this source represent?

  4. What primary sources does this draw from?

  5. What interpretation does the author offer?

Reflection

How does this source connect to the events in Brattleboro, VT? What does it reveal about the people involved?

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Brattleboro Event Timeline
History is for Everyone
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Brattleboro Event Timeline

timeline

Students place key events in chronological order and add details

# Brattleboro Revolutionary Timeline


Instructions: Place the following events in order and add one detail about each.


  • [ ] Westminster Massacre
  • [ ] Vermont Declares Independence and Adopts Constitution
  • [ ] Vermont Admitted to the Union as the 14th State
  • [ ] Yorktown Surrender News Arrives in Vermont
  • [ ] Haldimand Affair: Vermont's Secret Negotiations with Britain

---


| Event | Date | Significance |

|-------|------|-------------|

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Primary Source Analysis
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Primary Source Analysis

graphic organizer

Structured analysis of Revolutionary-era documents

# Primary Source Analysis Worksheet


## Source Information

  • Title: _________________
  • Author: _________________
  • Date: _________________
  • Type: _________________

## Observation

What do you notice? (List 3 things)

1.

2.

3.


## Reflection

What do you wonder? (List 2 questions)

1.

2.


## Analysis

What does this source tell us about Brattleboro during the Revolution?


_______________________________________________


## Perspective

Whose voice is represented? Whose might be missing?


_______________________________________________

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Key Figures Profile
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Key Figures Profile

worksheet

Research template for Revolutionary figures

# Revolutionary Figure Profile


## Basic Information

  • Name: _________________
  • Birth/Death Years: _________________
  • Occupation(s): _________________

## Role in the Revolution

### William French

Young settler killed during the Westminster Massacre on March 13, 1775, when the Cumberland County sheriff's posse fired into a crowd occupying the courthouse. French became a martyr figure for the Vermont independence movement; his gravestone, inscribed "murdered by the tools of tyranny," was one of the first explicit political statements of the revolutionary era in Vermont.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.


### Ira Allen

Younger brother of Ethan Allen and one of the principal architects of Vermont statehood. Ira Allen negotiated the Haldimand Affair — secret negotiations with British General Haldimand that were probably a deliberate stratagem to buy Vermont time while the war concluded. His land speculation shaped the political economy of early Vermont.


My questions about this person:

1.

2.



## Reflection

Which figure interests you most and why?


_______________________________________________

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Assessment
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Brattleboro in the American Revolution

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

  1. 1.  What makes Brattleboro significant in Revolutionary history?

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

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

    Answer:

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

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

    Answer:

ANSWER KEY · TEACHER COPY · DO NOT DISTRIBUTE

Brattleboro in the American Revolution

Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Brattleboro, VT

  1. 1.What makes Brattleboro significant in Revolutionary history?
    Answer:A

    Brattleboro played a significant role in the American Revolution as evidenced by the events we studied.

  2. 2.Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
    Answer:True

    Primary sources provide firsthand evidence about historical events.

  3. 3.Name one event that occurred in Brattleboro during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
    Answer:[Varies - accept any accurate event with reasonable explanation]

    Students should identify a specific event and connect it to broader Revolutionary themes.

  4. 4.Why is it important to consider multiple perspectives when studying history?
    Answer:A

    Multiple perspectives help us understand the full complexity of historical events.

  5. 5.Describe one connection between this town and another Revolutionary-era town we discussed.
    Answer:[Varies - accept any accurate connection]

    Students should demonstrate understanding of the interconnected nature of Revolutionary events.

Unit:Westminster Massacre: The Revolution's Forgotten First Bloodshed — Standards Alignment
History is for Everyone
Name: Date: Period:

Standards Addressed

Common Core ELA

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6: Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content

C3 Framework

  • D2.His.1.6-8: Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts
  • D2.His.6.6-8: Analyze how people's perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources
  • D2.Civ.2.6-8: Explain specific roles played by citizens, political parties, interest groups, and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts