Alfred F. Young took on an interesting task with his book The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution. He began his project looking for what role the average person played in the history of the Revolution, but changed directions when he realized it was more than just the common persons account that mattered; it was also about the meaning behind an individual’s memory. The way a person interpreted their experiences was equally important, if not more important, than the details of the events themselves. Young describes the process of constructing memory as both a construction of personal experience and a construction of public memory. What is most important in “doing history” is how those events were forgotten, and then …show more content…
He came from a family of nine children and was orphaned by the age of 14. He learned the trade of shoemaking, not by choice, but because he did not have the money nor the stature to do much else. One of the only chances he had to rise above the working class would have been through marriage, but he married a woman whose family was just as poor as his own. Together they had 15 children, and for the majority of his life, they remained nameless and poor. But inside, he was more than just a poor man from the working …show more content…
He was doing what he felt was right for his community and the freedom of his fellow colonists. His participation in The Boston Tea Party, and later in the war, was driven by his own “personal experiences” (Young 53). He did not want to be the source of pain for others, and he wouldn’t stand by as others were pained. Hewes had known many losses and experienced a rough upbringing so taking part in the monumental act of rebellion and destroying hundreds of pounds of tea anchored him in his sense of community. The action against Britain was collective without prejudice against the lower classes of society, and for once in his life, he was able to rise above his status and be a part of a community he was otherwise excluded
He spent his childhood in Rye, New York, as he was one out of ten children. John’s father was a successful trader of furs, wheat, timber, and other commodities. His mother decided to homeschool him until he was the age of eight, and then his
The beginning influential essay examines the Revolution through the experiences and recollections of Hewes who, in the 1830s, had two biographies written about him as Americans were trying to re-appropriate and reinterpret the era to reflect their own perspectives. Hewes never becomes rich but he was still known as a humble man. One of Hewes earliest memories, that Young mentions, is a meeting with John Hancock, one of the wealthiest men in Boston. Hewes became a shoemaker which was, in Young’s assessment, among the lowliest and least respected occupation. For Hewes, the American Revolution became about social equality, where a poor cobbler was as important as a wealthy merchant to the body politic. This is represented when Hewes recounts that even the wealth John Hancock was throwing crates into the water next to him. Young gives Hewes a partial justification in believing this by stating “American Revolution was not a plebian revolution” there was nevertheless “a powerful plebian current within it”
In this book Founding Brothers, the author Joseph J. Ellis writes about American Revolution's important figures such as George Washington, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison exhibit that how the specific relationships of the Founding Fathers have influenced, or were influenced in the course of the American Revolution. These men have become the Founding Fathers and had a strong connection with each other as friends fighting one another to eliminate the British from North America, and forming optimistic brotherhood eager for freedom. However, many of the Founding Fathers were preoccupied with posterity. They wanted to construct and preserve images that served both their egos and
The key concepts that are needed to understand the material in this article are the American Revolution and the relationship between the north and the south in the American Revolution. During his article, he provides some sentences summarized to explain, which helps me to understand some of the materials. Even though he gives me a simple brief, it’s not enough to explain other historical events that are mentioned in this article. I had to look some people and events. In order to understand the material of the article, I’m expected to have the knowledge of political events, relationships, parties, and people. I needed to know about, for instance, what Constitutional Convention was and who Charles Pinckney was, and what he did in order to understand what the author wanted to say.
Throughout The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, Alfred Young clearly walks us through the ordinary life of George Robert Twelves Hewes. Some main topics discussed are: average people in historical events, how groups of people view the past, and how memories are shaped over time. Hewes is not the only person discussed in the story, yet this book is essentially a biography of his life. Young touches all of the topics through talking about the different times in Hewes’ life. Ultimately, within this essay, I will demonstrate the understanding of The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, and effectively discuss the main topics during the course of this story.
In 1768 his boat, Liberty, was impounded customs officials at Boston Harbor, for a charge of running contraband goods. A large group of private citizens stormed the customs post, burned the government boat and beat the officers, causing them to seek refuge on a ship off shore. Soon after, Hancock abetted the Boston Tea Party. Hancock watched the early developments and strongly denounced the acts of violence. Finally he consulted with Samuel Adams, John Adams, and others to understand what was taking place. He soon realized that even his own employees were suffering under the taxation and administrat...
For my whole life, I have lived in Boston. In 1773, me and some others went on to the British’s ship to protest. We threw 342 chests of tea into the Ocean. This had caused the Boston Tea Party. As I am serving in the war, young women at home are crushing on British soldiers, only for their handsomeness and red fancy coats. At one point Washington’s position was uncertain. Valley Forge was located about 18
Alfred Young is a well-known writer on the topics of the Revolution, and events leading up to. He wrote a essay called “The Shoemaker and The Revolution”, about George Hewes and the affects this man made on the revolution. One of the first things you notice about the essay is the title itself, which uses the specific title of “shoemaker” for Hewes, to catch your attention. He pays specific care to the details and even uses the examples of two actual colonial time writers: James Hawkes and Benjamin Thatcher, who both at one point interviewed Hewes. He remains almost totally unbiased in his paper because he chooses only to tell the story of Hewes and the adventures he lived in his home-town of Boston.
Most people have heard of The Boston tea party. When American patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians boarded the British ships in the Boston harbor and dumped all of the tea into the ocean. But what most people fail to realize is the great importance behind this protest. To fully understand a topic of history one must first acknowledge the actions behind it. The French and Indian war, the Stamp Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, as well as the Tea Act are all important catalysts of the legendary Boston tea party. Which is why we will discuss these topics before examining the events of the Boston tea party.
Taking place in 1775, within the mist of the American Revolution; a young Patriot named Sam emerges to tell the stories and the events of the Revolution. His family is divided over whose side to take in this war; while his younger brother Tim, also the narrator of the novel, idolizes him and the war. Sam vividly describes impactful events within the Revolution. He tells stories of Lexington and Concord, the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Each of these real life events influences and enriches the novel; thus keeping the reader more connected and involved in the novel.
The Boston Tea Party is one of the most explosive and dynamic examples of what affect the common man held on the path to the Revolution. The Tea Party itself was organized by some of the more well-known officials such as John Hancock, but would have had little effect without the men who actually participated in tossing of 90,000 pounds of tea. George Hewes, a prime example of the average man’s affect on the war, had this to say about that fateful night:
When one explains his or her ingenious yet, enterprising interpretation, one views the nature of history from a single standpoint: motivation. In The American Revolution: A History, Gordon Wood, the author, explains the complexities and motivations of the people who partook in the American Revolution, and he shows the significance of numerous themes, that emerge during the American Revolution, such as democracy, discontent, tyranny, and independence. Wood’s interpretation, throughout his literary work, shows that the true nature of the American Revolution leads to the development of United State’s current government: a federal republic. Wood, the author, views the treatment of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century as scholastic yet, innovative and views the American Revolution’s true nature as
Jolley uses characterization to individualize each character in a poverty stricken family. The son is referred to as a prince by his mother several times throughout the story even though he is a high school dropout. “Mother always called him Prince; she worried about him all the time. I couldn’t think why. He was only my brother and a drop out at that” (117). The author portrays the son to be someone with low self-esteem because he is poor and a drop out he lives a miserable life. His mother tries to provide him with as much, but is unable to do this because of her social status is society. “‘Sleeps the best thing he can have. I wish he’d eat!’ She watched me as I took bread and spread the butter thick, she was never mean about butter, when we didn’t have other things we always had plenty of butter” (117). Through this passage the author convincingly demonstrates that they are poor and cannot afford an assortment of thing...
He was not like his brothers, he was different, he was smarter, healthier, and stronger. At the age of five he advanced to the home of the student, where he was scolded for learning faster than his brothers. Equality teachers told him that he had evil in his bones because he was taller than his brothers. Then at the age of fifteen when the house of vocations came Equality was guilty of the great transgression of preference because he wanted to be a scholar, but his selected vocation was to be a street sweeper. Every day while he was swept by the fields he would watch and smile at Liberty and she would smile back.
Becker, S., & Glover, L., & Wheeler, W. (2012). Discovering the American Past: A Look at the