The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a contested law that gave Southern slaveholders the power to intrude in Northern cities and take alleged fugitive slaves back to captivity. Animated by the hotbed of abolitionism taking hold in the city, Boston activists worked to maintain the freedom of fugitive slaves and even fought violently to maintain black freedom. Under these circumstances, many abolitionists invoked the memory of Crispus Attucks to justify their actions and called upon the need for black freedom.

Most Americans today recognize the Paul Revere print of the Boston Massacre. Thanks to every high school U.S. history textbook, Revere’s print is the image that comes to our minds when we think of the “Bloody Massacre” on March 5, 1770. But when we look at the famous print today, we realize that someone is missing from the scene: Crispus Attucks.