Shoemaker and the Tea Party Essay - 1788 Words

Throughout history, historians have spun events in order to alter and adjust others’ views on the event. This is especially true during Colonial times and the time leading up the American Revolution. During this time, information about the colonist’s events was passed on through word of mouth. One such man that was notorious for this was George Robert Twelves Hewes. Hewes was a Boston shoemaker, who at the age of twenty-eight witnessed four of his closest friends shot to death by The British red coats; he also participated in many of the key events of the Revolutionary crisis.1 Hewes recollections of the events that took place were passed along in the monograph The Shoemaker and the Tea Party: Memory and the American Revolution by Alfred†¦show more content†¦He also dragged on with long digressions in order to add to the story.6He biggest mistake was not knowing enough about the Revolution in order to accurately portray Hewes. This made him portray Hewes with t he same virtues of Benjamin Franklin and a selfless patriot. On a positive note, he allowed Hewes to add his own feelings and ideas into the bibliography, thus, creating a simplistic and truthful story. On the contrary, Thatcher embellished and falsified dialogue in order to add to Hewes’s story. He would regularly add anecdotes about Hewes’s youth and the revolution that were more than likely fabricated. â€Å"Thus, Hatchers portrayal, while fuller than Hawkes’s, is also more flawed.† Both authors took an average Joe and made him into a radical figure. Others have also chosen to alter the character of Hewes, even in a painting. The painting, which ordered by John Davis, president of the Massachusetts Historical Society and United States Attorney at law, depicted only one side Hewes. When the painting was finished it was hung in the Boston Athenaum described as â€Å"a place of fashionable resort.† Although the painting of Hewes was a nice gesture, it failed to show both sides of the story. He was a vital figure in the events leading up to the American Revolution but he was also a shoemaker for his entire life, which the portrait failed to portray. Additionally, the portrait failed to portray the real life characteristics of Hewes. For example, an indentation in hisShow MoreRelatedThe Shoemaker and the Tea Party1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred Young revolves around two bibliographies written about one of the last living participants of the Boston Tea Party, and the authors own interpretat ions of the events surrounding the Tea Party and the American Revolution as a whole. In this particular novel, Young explores what it means to rediscover history, and how history is continually redefined. Particular attention in the novel is given to public history, and how highlighting people otherwise lost toRead MoreThe Shoemaker And Tea Party Summary917 Words   |  4 PagesYoung, Alfred F. The shoemaker and the tea party: memory and the American Revolution. Beacon Press, 1999† Alfred F. Young throughout his book used Robert Hewes experiences to show how the American Revolution impacted the colonist. The Shoemaker and Tea party is all about a shoemaker named George Robert Twelves Hewes, whose accomplishments weren’t really recognized and somewhat overshadowed by â€Å"famous â€Å"people. The book will show how Hewes grew as a person and as a patriot, it will show his ups andRead MoreEssay On The Shoemaker And The Tea Party1203 Words   |  5 PagesGoing into â€Å"The Shoemaker and The Tea Party† I was expecting two-hundred and sixty-two page of misery. I found something much more than that, what I found was a story. A story I got stuck into it from the first time my eyes encountered the first words. I was pleasantly woken by a story that I was not able to put down until my fingers ached from turning the pages. As you could tell I loved the book, and the story of George Robert Twelves Hewes. The desire and aspirations of Hewes to change w ho heRead MoreThe Death Of A Shoemaker And The Tea Party By Alfred F. Young Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pagessoldiers shoot colonists and killing a few men. The colonists also retaliated against the taxations by dressing up as Indians and throwing tea into the ocean. Parliament began establishing acts known as the intolerable acts, which led to the revolution. In The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. Young, the author introduces and describes the life of a shoemaker, George Robert Twelves Hewes, and the events he was a part of leading up to and after the American Revolution. 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John Adams, said that shoemaking was, â€Å"too mean and diminutive an occupation, to hold a client of his who wanted to rise in the world.†1 George Robert Twelves Hewes did not want to continue his apprenticeship as a shoemaker, and saw that by enlisting in the military to fight for England inRead MoreThe Success Of Boston Tea Party1881 Words   |  8 PagesBoston Tea Party The colonies owned by Britain in North America, sought independence. Between the 1760s to present day a lot has changed. The effects of the Boston Tea Party have thrived throughout America ever since.The Boston Tea Party was a significant event in U.S. history, largely because of tea’s importance at that time, the acts of rebellion that occurred during the tea party, and the impacts they had on shaping today’s society. Carp stated that around the early 1580’s, Europeans adoptedRead MoreColonists Point Of View On The American Revolution1505 Words   |  7 Pagesexpensive. 1767 was the start of serious rapacious taxes towards the colonists. They were called the Townshend acts, proposed by Charles Townshend, were series of acts proposed to tax the colonists charging them for necessary items in the colonies like tea, lead, glass paint and other items. A phrase that was introduced during this time was the phrase â€Å"Taxation Without Representation† The colonists made it up because exclusionary Britain did not let colonists be part in the British government. The phraseRead MoreBenjamin Franklin And The American Revolution1375 Words   |  6 Pagesand severs all ties with him. Throughout his lifetime George Robert Twelves Hewes spent time as a farmer, shoemaker, artisan, ordinary man desiring change, and a man who influenced change. He had grown up in a life of poverty, knowing there had to be something more. He became a key figure of the Patriots and joined their endeavor for independence from Britain. To avoid the life of a shoemaker and his apprenticeship as his family had hoped he would, Hewes sought out the military as means of escaping