A++Death+in+Boston

=**A Death in Boston**= February 22, 1770 15-20 minutes

Intro/Synopsis: Mrs. Edes sends Nat out to buy supplies for her upcoming spinning bee, with instructions to be careful where he shops (if pressed, she will tell Nat to shop from Patriot shops who sell domestic goods). In town, Nat learns of protests against merchants who have been importing goods from England. Nat has the option to buy goods from importers or non-importers. Later that day, he hears that an eleven-year-old boy names Christopher Seider was shot during an altercation between protestors and a customs informer. Back at the print shop that night, Nat overhears a meeting of the Sons of Liberty in which plans are made for the Seider funeral and protest.

Vocabulary:

 * Import
 * Homespun
 * Export
 * Taxes
 * Boycott
 * Protest
 * Effigy
 * Townshend Acts

Post Game Assessment:

 * ===Enter Online Discussion===


 * ===OR Use the Following Prompt:===

A CHILD DIES. Think about what you already know about the death of Christopher Seider. Now imagine this similar, contemporary situation: a group of adults go to protest a dealership that sells imported cars in your neighborhood. The protesters feel that when imports are made available, fewer American cars will be sold, and so fewer American workers will have jobs. A group of boys you know from school passes by. It looks like fun, so they join the protest. An angry man appears on the scene and yells at everyone to go home. The protesters hoot and boo and ignore him, but some of the boys laugh and throw rocks at the man. His wife, who is with him, gets hit. This angers him. He goes into a building. The boys throw rocks at the windows and break them. Suddenly, the man appears at one of the windows, points a shotgun at the crowd and fires. One of your schoolmates is shot, and he later dies.

a. Think about this for a few minutes: Whose fault is it? The owner of the dealership? The protesters? The group of boys? The angry man? The man’s wife? The boy who got shot? Explain your reasoning. If you feel more than one person is at fault, explain your thinking about that. b. Do you feel that a crime has been committed, or that this was just a terrible accident? Explain why. c. If the person who died had been an adult, would this seem as sad? If it was a girl? If it was a man in his nineties? Explain your reasoning.

Resources:

 * Newspaper account of the death of Christopher Seider
 * Hutchinson (Loyalist) reaction to the death of Seider

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