ipl-logo

Hewes Analysis

1045 Words5 Pages

Through Young’s article on a poor Cordwainer living through the formative years of the American Revolution, we gain a unique glimpse into the extraordinary times that shaped both one man’s experiences and the historical narrative of a nation for generations to come. Young uses both primary and secondary sources to present a coherent picture of the events that transpired as they relate to one person and a nation at large. He draws heavily from two biographies written during Hewes’ time. One written by James Hawkes in 1834 and the other by Benjamin Bussey Thatcher in 1835. Both of these biographies are based on direct interviews of Hewes himself. Other sources Young draws upon include court records, archives, tax documents, newspapers, journals, baptismal records, and the stories of family descendants. All of these sources offer insights into the events of Hewes’ life, before, during, and after the war. They also bring with them new questions and at times, cast doubt on their historical accuracy. Yet, Young acknowledges this and draws from these many and at times, opposing sources, to somehow illustrate a deeper truth. I will attempt to analyze Young’s article in the hopes of offering a clear …show more content…

The story constructed by Hewes has a deeply inspiring quality to it. However, it is my belief that although he does make efforts to disentangle the biographers and Hewes’ potential skewing of events, he does not go far enough at certain points. At times he seems to enable the old adage, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” without due skepticism. The strength of Young’s article rests on how well he buttresses the more questionable parts of the story with well sourced and verifiable information. His use of such a wide array of evidence to substantiate his narrative when viewed holistically, make up for the shortcomings of his less reliable

Show More
Related
137 Words | 1 Pages

Gordon S. Wood, “the preeminent historian of the Revolution”, is a well known American historian who has received several awards such as the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prize for his historical books. In his book, The American Revolution: A History, he breaks down the key events based on his experiences and knowledge on the Revolutionary period. Wood was born in Concord, Massachusetts on November 27,1933. Wood teaches at many liberal renowned universities such as Brown, Cambridge, Northwestern , and Harvard. Now being eighty one years old, he recently retired from Brown University and lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

Andrew Gendel Professor Coburn History 17A 22 October 2015 Response Paper Chapter eight in the book, Voices Of Freedom, we read into the years of 1790 through 1815. In the coming chapters we learn about the French Revolution (1792-93), but also skim past Judith Murray and the equality of sexes, George Washington’s farewell address, George Tucker on Gabriel’s rebellion, Mercy Otis Warren on religion and Virtue (1805), Tecumseh on Indians and lands (1810), Felix Grundy, and Battle Cry of the War Hawks (1811). Although chapter eight follows the process of the republic and securing it I find that through this chapter an argument that is most presented in chapter eight is that of Indian rights in the New America, the rise of colonization and the amelioration of Native ways. Tecumseh was a chief who refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville

Read More
1031 Words | 5 Pages

In “A Revolutionary People at War”, Charles Royster has developed a complex and in-depth thesis regarding the American Revolution. The book dives into the minds of the American people as it conveys the American character displayed throughout the Revolution. His book is multi-faceted, focusing on a number of themes that are beautifully intertwined. He discusses the prevailing American character during the American Revolution. The book studies the ideals of the American people during the revolution and how those ideals impacted the way the Continental Army was organized and how the Revolution was fought.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

William Moraley’s failure in the American colonies was not due to laziness but being at the wrong place at the wrong time. His hard work and motivation to better his life just didn’t work in his favor. Even before his journey to America, Moraley had a string of bad luck. After his father’s death, he quarreled with his mother for his rightful fortune. But unable to acquire these funds he was reduced to poverty.

Read More
1294 Words | 6 Pages

Texas’s first African American woman novelist was also a biographer, diarist, educator, publisher, and librarian. Lillian B. Horace was born on April 29, 1880 in Jefferson, Texas. Her parents were Thomas Armstead and Mary Ackard. The family moved to Fort Worth, Texas when Lillian was a young toddler. She would go on to receive her early and formal education, graduating from the historically black institution, I. M. Terrell High School.

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

To begin, the author commences the novel with the chapter “Back Country Survival”, a title parallel to its contents. In this chapter, the author uses Jackson’s adolescence to explain his desire for justice, as he lost his family to the War of Independence. It emphasizes the part in which his mother “”left her feverish son in bed and set off for Charleston”(Curtis 9), where she of course, perished. This

Read More
1167 Words | 5 Pages

The chapters of our textbook, America: A Narrative History, written by George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, takes us on a historical yet comparative journey of the road to war and what caused the American Revolution, an insight into the war itself, and a perception to what life was like in America after the war was over. The essays of the book, America Compared: American History in International Perspective, collected by Carl J. Guarneri gives us a global context and a comparison between the North and South Americas in the dividing issues of labor, slavery, taxes, politics, economy, liberty, and equality. Part One These chapters in our textbook Tindall describes; the road to the American Revolution, the road to the surrendering of the British, and the road to the American colonists receiving their independence and developing the government which the people of the United States will be governed by. The road to the American Revolution consisted of several events, which escalated to the war that began April 19, 1775, as the tensions between the American colonies and the British Government advanced towards breaking point.

Read More
1016 Words | 5 Pages

Explanations of the American Revolution are extracted from the real life accounts of individuals who were directly involved in the activities that took place during this period. One of the Key authors focused in the essay is Mary Jemison, a white woman married into the American Indian tribe of Seneca. She lived the better part of her life alongside the Seneca community and endured a multitude of experiences that enabled her to write about her compelling account of the American Revolution from the year 1775-1779. Indian tribes lived in harmony along the whites, who were the Colonialists and the Americans. During the time of writing of the accounts, most of the States were under colonial rule, but the grip that the colonialists had on the people was sleeping away as rebel groups formed to fight off the oppressive reign of the colonialists.

Read More
750 Words | 3 Pages

The book is an apt textbook as it details the important concepts of colonial history in America. Hawke (1989) also takes a balanced approach in order to give the diverse viewpoints of notable scholars while discussing the history of early America. Moreover the topics clearly examine and explain every single section and notion including scholarly opinions. Overall the book has been excellently written and has highly researched text which provides knowledge to the readers about the early history of

Read More
1135 Words | 5 Pages

The American Revolution is arguably the turning point of American history as it resulted in somewhat of a significant, positive change in politics, economics, and society as a whole. However, from 1775 to 1800, the effects of the revolution on the American society were subtle as most principles glorified by revolutionists contradicted the examples set forth by colonial reality. Perhaps most alike to revolutionary beliefs was the American economy and how it participated in free trade or encouraged the independence of hard labor. Politically, the states did apply Enlightenment and republican ideas as promised, but more often than not, the benefits of such ideas were limited to rich, land-owning, protestant, white men. This glorification of

Read More
1438 Words | 6 Pages

A woman’s place in Puritan society was very limited during these times. A preface was added to her narrative by a puritan pastor as approval for her to publish her prose. Before her captivity Rowlandson didn’t know what a struggle consisted of. She was the typical housewife in a Puritan society. She never went without food, shelter, or clothing before her captivity.

Read More
919 Words | 4 Pages

The next phase of Charles’s life is where he begins to help Henry L. Dawes to organize the Dawes Act. With this act, they are hoping to improve the lives for the Native Americans on the reservation. Together, Dawes and Charles work to try to pass the bill in the Congress. After the pass of the bill, Eastman moves to the Sioux reservation

Read More
1305 Words | 6 Pages

It’s been over 200 years since the original thirteen colonies of America fought their revolutionary war against Great Britain, in hopes of achieving their independence. We shall be going through a few areas of the Revolution, such as the military, social hierarchy, the role of men and women during the war, the colonists’ values of equality and their social contract response to the British government’s abuses, and we’ll compare these areas to the present day. The American Revolution started around April of 1775, when British redcoats and American militiamen exchanged gunshots in Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. However, that was only the beginning of the fighting; the reasons for the war date from years prior, when resistance from the

Read More
1659 Words | 7 Pages

J. Hector ST. John De Crevecoeur tells the story of the western frontier from the perspective of a European American finding a new found freedom for exploration. He compares American experiences with the old country and welcomes emigrants from many countries in Europe to participate in the navigation of the frontier. The exploration of the frontier he equates to equality among those that may have been oppressed by Europe’s Kings: “Here are no aristocratic families, no courts, no kings, no bishops, no ecclesiastical dominion, no invisible power giving to a few a very visible one.....”

Read More
441 Words | 2 Pages

In 1782, French aristocrat J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, wrote an essay titled Letters of an American Farmer as a way of defining Americans. To persuade readers from countries unfamiliar with the American society is his purpose for writing this. Throughout he shows a feeling of admiration and respect towards the American way of life. In the first paragraph Crevecoeur starts with his claim that America is a “great asylum” put together by the “poor of Europe.”

Read More

More about Hewes Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document