Crispus Attucks, Black Leader of Colonial Patriots (Childhood of Famous Americans

by Dharathula H. Millender

Focuses on the youth of the Massachusetts slave who, after joining the colonial patriots in their struggle for freedom, was the first man to die in the American Revolution.

Genres: Biography, History, Childrens, American History, Nonfiction, American Revolutionary War, Biography Memoir

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Dharathula H. Millender was a teacher and school librarian. She is the author of several books, including biographies of the young Crispus Attucks, Louis Armstrong, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Melani Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my elementary-age children. There were parts that made me cringe "treated his slaves well," "one of the family," etc. We had good discussions. I edited some of the phrasing on the fly, changing "slaves" to "person who was enslaved" or to "man," "woman," or "person." I'm not sure why a person or group of people needed to be called "slaves" over and over in one paragraph. We are aware they are enslaved, so lets just call them by name or another part of their humanity after that. I want to go through the book and edit it myself in case I accidentally just hand it to one of my children to read one day. All that said, the story is so good and needs to be told in this way. It was great to hear about the passion of Crispus Attucks and that he wasn't just in the wrong place at the wrong time--he was an important voice for freedom. This book will stay on my shelves to be read again when we study this time period next.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 192 page book in large print is written to present a fuller story on Crispus Attucks for a upper elementary school child or as a family read. If you are not familiar with the Childhood of Famous Americans series, you should keep your eye out for these. Many are out of print, but they are worth using to give your children and yourself a clearer idea of the featured person and life in that time period. The series strives to make these individuals relative to a young reader without dumbing down the person's life.

Crispus is introduced as a young boy about to get baptized not because he is inquiring into his faith, but because his owner is insisting. This seems to be the point at which Crispus learns that he and his family are "owned" and slaves. He struggles with the idea as he has lived a very comfortable life with little turmoil as his father and mother are trusted servants. Crispus has always had a dream of what he wants to do when he grows up, to be a free man working on a boat . When the time comes for Crispus to be apprenticed, he is not consulted and does not wish to drive the carriage, which is the job assigned. He does not do well with the assignment as his heart is not in it and he plans to run away.

The story is well told and full of adventure. A great addition to Early American history as Crispus' life ends as he stands for freedom at what becomes known as the Boston Massacre. The incident is a short view of the incident, not with gory detail.

Very good background on the different status of slaves versus indentured servants and the different levels of privilege within the slave community at the plantation. One I think a young person can easily relate.

[Jasmine Pulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud for our history time period 1650-1800. A biography of a lesser known, yet incredibly important part of the American revolution, Crispus Attucks was born a slave, yet became the first man to actually die for the revolution, at the Boston Massacre.

Age appropriate descriptions of his early life as a slave were given. Interesting to note, the author described the slaves as “happy” at first which made me uncomfortable, but upon further research, I learned that the Attucks family’s owner was in many ways an easier man than many other slave owners. In his later years, he wanted to free Crispus attucks’s father, Prince, but Prince actually refused freedom saying he had given his best years to the Colonel, and wanted to stay on to be taken care of in his old age. the Colonel accepted. This was an interesting situation to discuss.

Overall, the kids and I enjoyed this biography, and I felt it added more context to some of our other texts on this time period.

[Aimee Fuhrman · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as writing goes, this was not my favorite of this series (Childhood of Famous Americans). However, I appreciated hearing Crispus Attucks story. I was unaware of this character from American history. Born a slave in Colonial America, Attucks was unhappy, though well treated (his owner was relatively generous and his family had more privileges than most) and encouraged by his parents to be grateful for his life. As a young man he ran away and got a job on a whaling ship. Later, he found himself in the middle of the brewing revolution. Identifying with the cause of liberty, he risked exposure to stand up to tyranny, ultimately becoming the first casualty in the Boston Massacre.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son enjoyed this one. We read it as part of our history curriculum this year, which is intentionally covering marginalized people groups and their contributions to US History...most of which were missing when I took such classes.

[LaWindes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Discusses slavery in colonial Massachusetts

[George Kasnic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brave book for 1965, it is an interesting study in how the issue of enslavement in America was sanitized at the time. The book pays great homage to Crispus Attucks, as well as enslaved people, native Americans, and the influence of Caribbean culture on resistance. But it does not address the brutality of enslavement either candor. I think it tries, and I think without the constraints of that time the author would have gone further. I believe they wanted to. An interesting historic artifact.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave whom is killed in the Boston Massacre. This book describes a new part of his life every chapter. There were so many things in which there was suspense throughout his escape. One thing I learned about him was that he was brave and took a job on a whaling ship on his escape. The thing I liked about this book was the exquisite amount of information this book holds. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in slavery and the revolutionary war . I was very impressed about this book

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account about a lesser-known hero of the American Revolution, Crispus Attucks who, born into a slave family in Framingham, Massachusetts of a Wampanoag mother and African father, eventually escaped, became a harpooner for a whaling ship, and was the first of five people killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770.

[Ricci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fictionalized account of the life of Crispus Attucks. There were facts sprinkled about in this easy to read book. Considering that there isn't much out there about Attucks in the first place it was very interesting and held my kids attention.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had more believable material than the last CoFA book I read. I was impressed by the impact Crispus Attucks made on the initiation of the American Revolution and was sad to have not known about him earlier.

[Belinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my son for his summer reading. It was a good introduction to what life was like at that time for Crispus Attucks.