Episode 296: Serena Zabin, The Boston Massacre: A Family History

by Liz CovartMarch 2, 2021

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Is there anything more we can know about well-researched and reported events like the Boston Massacre?

Are there new ways of looking at oft-taught events that can help us see new details about them, even 250 years after they happened?

Serena Zabin, a Professor of History at Carleton College in Minnesota and the author of the award-winning book, The Boston Massacre: A Family History, joins us to discuss the Boston Massacre and how she found a new lens through which to view this famous event that reveals new details and insights.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Ben Franklin’s World is a production of the Omohundro Institute.

Episode Summary

Serena Zabin, a Professor of History at Carleton College in Minnesota and the author of the award-winning book, The Boston Massacre: A Family History, joins us to discuss the Boston Massacre and how she found a new lens through which to view this famous event that reveals new details and insights.

During our conversation, Serena reveals: why Americans are so interested in the Boston Massacre; How viewing the Boston Massacre through the lens of family reveals new details and context for the Massacre; And, details about Serena’s work to turn research about the Boston Massacre into a fun and educational video game.

What You’ll Discover

Boston Massacre as a “chestnut of the American Revolution”
The Boston Massacre
Why Americans are so interested in the Massacre
How the lens of family opens up new details about the Massacre
Boston on the eve of the Boston Massacre
Why the British Army occupied Boston
The Townshend Duties & Boston’s reaction to them
Number of soldiers in Boston
Housing the British soldiers in Boston
Quartering Act
The women and children who accompanied the British Army
The experiences of military families in 1770 Boston
Impact of quartering 4 regiments in Boston in late the 1760s and 1770
The Boston Massacre
Creating a video game about the Boston Massacre
Differences in eyewitness testimony
The historical process for a creating a video game
What we should know about the Boston Massacre

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Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if the British Army had refused to transport the wives and children of its soldiers to Boston? How would the occupation of Boston and the Boston Massacre have been different if wives and children had been barred from accompanying the army?