For this assignment you will conduct a miniature research assignment in order to compose an “official” definition of a vocabulary term from the first semester. After the work is compiled from all of the APUSH students we will have a first semester glossary from which to study for final exams – and the AP Exam. As a whole this project is a huge undertaking, but individually it’s a simple task. Don’t let that fool you though; every student in the APUSH program is depending on you to perform a small task with great concentration and accuracy.
Instructions and Tips:
1. After you receive your official term/s in class, head to www.workmanistan.com
to download the Boston
Massacre sample in Word document format. Open the Boston Massacre sample and use it as a template for your own work.
2. Begin looking up the definition of your term/s in ALL SIX of the resources shown in the Boston Massacre sample on this back of this page. You may discover that your topic cannot be found in all of the sources.
3. For each source, copy the most important ingredients of the definition into the “Sources” section as shown in the sample (11 point font, Times New Roman, italics, single spacing, with quotes and page references for print sources). Edit the total length of your quotes so that your final product fits neatly on a single page. Don’t be surprised if you end up needing more than one quote from the American Pageant as shown in the sample.
4. Compose a definition that blends the most common and important components taken from the research sources. Make every effort not to plagiarize word for word from any one single source; rather, blend together the best parts. On the other hand, don’t try too hard to come up with something completely original. This is NOT a creative writing assignment. We’re shooting for the “official” definition.
5. Your definition should be approximately FOUR sentences in length. If your topic is an event (such as a rebellion or war) be sure your first sentence is the most concise, simply stated definition. The remaining sentences should include the most important causes and consequences of the event.
6. When you have copied the researched definitions and blended your own “official” definition you are ready to submit your work. The best way to submit this assignment is by email to kevin.workman@mead354.org
as an email attachment. The best way to earn extra-credit in Mr.
Workman’s heart is to team up with a group of friends and submit your assignments together as a single
Word document that includes all of your team’s work.
7. Within a couple days your work will be compiled into a combined APUSH Semester 1 Glossary for your use as a study tool for the Semester 1 Final Exam and the AP Exam in May.
Not until third period Friday did a student bring up a very important point about NOT using the actual vocab term in the definition itself (especially the first sentence).
For example, if your term is “John Brown,” your definition should keep his name a mystery.
Otherwise these flashcards will not be effective for studying and the definitions will not work for a final exam. Instead, use other devices that protect the identity of the key term: he, she, it, they, their, on this day, this conflict, this war, this protest, this philosophy, this controversial bill in
Congress, this law, this court case, etc. Thanks!

Sally Sample
APUSH P. 3
In March of 1770 a squad of British soldiers opened fire on a hostile mob of colonists, killing five people, including a former slave Crispus
Attucks. Sent by British officials to enforce the Townsend Acts , the redcoats’ presence in Boston often invited protests and skirmishes. On this occasion a crowd throwing rocks and snowballs caused a nervous soldier to fire on the crowd in an act of apparent self-defense. Radical patriots like Samuel Adams dubbed it a “massacre” in order to further agitate anti-British sentiments among the colonists.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
American Pageant: “British officials faced with a breakdown of law and order, landed two regiments of troops in Boston in 1768. Many of the soldiers were drunken and profane characters…A clash was inevitable. On the evening of March 5, 1770, a crowd of some sixty townspeople began taunting and throwing snowballs at a squad of ten redcoats…” (129).
“Acting apparently without orders, but nervous and provoked by the jeering crowd, the troops opened fire and killed or wounded eleven citizens…both sides were in some degree to blame…” (130).
AMSCO Review Text: “On a snowy day in March 1770, a crowd of colonists harassed the guards near the customs house. The guards fired into the crowd, killing five people including an African American, Crispus
Attucks. At their trial for murder, the soldiers were defended by colonial lawyer John Adams and acquitted.
Adams’ more radical cousin, Samuel Adams, angrily denounced the shooting incident as a “massacre.”
Later, the episode was often used by colonial leaders to inflame anti-British feeling” (66).
The History Channel ( www.history.com
): “The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, snowballing crowd, let loose a volley of shots.
Three persons were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds; among the victims was Crispus Attucks…The killings of March 5, promptly termed a “massacre” by Patriot leaders and commemorated in a widely circulated engraving by Paul Revere, aroused intense public protests and threats of violent retaliation.”
Independence Hall Association ( www.ushistory.org
): “On March 5, 1770, the inevitable happened. A mob of about 60 angry townspeople descended upon the guard at the customs house. When reinforcements were called, the crowd became more unruly, hurling rocks and snowballs at the guard and reinforcements. In the heat of the confusing melee, the British fired without Captain Thomas Preston’s command. Imperial bullets took the lives of five men, including Crispus Attucks, a former slave. Others were injured.”
SparkNotes SAT Test Prep ( www.sparknotes.com
):
“In March, 1770, a crowd of colonists protested against
Boston customs agents and the Townsend Duties. Violence flared and five colonists were killed.”
Wikipedia ( www.wikipedia.org) : “ The Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston…Amid ongoing tense relations between the population and the soldiers, a mob formed around a British sentry, who was subjected to verbal abuse and harassment. He was eventually supported by a small company of troops, who were subjected to verbal threats and thrown objects. They fired into the crowd, apparently without orders, instantly killing three people and wounding others. Two more people died later of wounds sustained in the incident.”