Preview

George Hewes in American Revolution

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1323 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
George Hewes in American Revolution
The American Revolution being one of major movements which led to the independence of the thirteen colonies from British Empire holds a great importance in American history. George Robert Tweleves Hewes was considered to be one of the last survivors of the American Revolution. Though his significance in the events leading up to the revolution is questionable, his biographies, one written by John Hawkes and the other by Benjamin Thatcher, give interesting insights into the events that led to the revolution.
After establishing Hewes’ sound memory and also cross-checking most of his statements, the biographers where able to confirm to certain extent his participation in Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party. Nonetheless, there is full evidence that Hewes not only was involved, but was the Centre of attraction during the “tarring and feathering” of John Malcom, a loyalist (Kindle Location 534). He also served as a privateer and in militia on and off from 1776 to 1781. He was present at the Stamp Act of 1765, but apparently he was just a by-stander.
On the night of 5th, March 1770, Hewes claimed that he was early on the scene at King Street when a barber’s apprentice was quarrelling with a British officer over an overdue bill. Young comments that the way Hewes said he soon joined the crowd on the as if it were “only natural that he should turn out in defense for his fellow townsmen against what was assumed to be the danger of aggressive action by the soldiers”. Soon there was a riot between the people and the soldiers during which Private Kilroy deals a blow on Hewes’ shoulder with his gun. He wasn’t calm with Captain Preston ordering the crowd to back-off and justified that they had every right to stay there as much as the soldiers did. He was horrified on the turnout of events where a political confrontation by people led to slaughter. Later the next day he was resisted by a group of soldiers for arming himself with a cane. He argues he has a right to carry the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The colonists were political activists waiting to happen. Politics had been relatively quite in the New World since its boom. In the Puritan societies, citizens took turns serving political offices; it was part of their duty to the community. As cities grew, they elected their own councils or other forms of government. Not until the grumbling began did Britain feel the need to place its own officials over the colonies. The colonists, especially those in Boston, were only waiting for the spark they needed to ignite a political, and later a military, war. For some, this spark may have been the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm, a hated customs informer. According to Alfred Young in his book The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, this particular event "was part of the upsurge of spontaneous action in the wake of the Tea Party that prompted the Whig leaders to promote a "Committee for Tarring and Feathering" as an instrument of crowd control"(50). The crowds seemed to zealous even for the rich opposition leaders who believed they needed to inhibit many mob uprisings. Hewes' political life started years earlier than this last event. For Hewes, "the Massacre had stirred [him] to political action"(Young 39). Notice that he was "stirred" to action, not reluctantly pushed or forced.…

    • 839 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Professor Joanne Freeman unravels her plan for her class to make them be aware of the how the American Revolution came about but to get passed most but not all of the dates and facts of the war. Freeman explains that the American Revolution entailed some remarkable transformations like, converting British colonists into American revolutionaries. This lecture examines the American Revolution from a broad perspective. The best part about her lecture is that she breaks it down into five easy steps to understand, and for her being a professor at Yale she probably is one of the top favorite teachers just because of how easy she breaks her lectures down. Freeman relates herself to one of the Founders, John Adams, because he wasn’t up to the status quo of every other Founder as she states it. John was humorous…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    William Dawes Thesis

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Page

    William Dawes was a famous tanner and patriot from Massachusetts during the 1775 American Revolution. He was born on April 6th, 1745 in Boston. He was the second child out of twelve belonging to William Dawes, his father of the same name, and his mother, Lydia Boone. In 1767, Dawes was one of the 650 people to sign the “Non-important Agreement”, which prevented them from buying imported goods from Britain. The things he was prevented from buying include clothing, furniture, various spices, and more. But he pulled through, as in 1768, he joined the ancient and honorable artillery company, a private training organization and was promoted to second major of the regiment of the Boston militia. Later, in October of 1774, be planned a break-in at…

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Leading up to the fierce and fiery confrontations at Lexington and Concord, a tumultuous period of debate and negotiation ensued regarding the preferred response of the colonies to British encroachment on their rights. The meeting of Virginian representatives in March of 1775 would prove to be a fruitless affair; that is, until a young, ardent lawyer by the name of Patrick Henry delivered an impassioned oration, with the intent of elucidating upon the reality of the situation: that the then-colonies were being driven to militant opposition of their royal overlords, and that to continue on passively would be to “retreat...[into] submission and slavery.” In his speech, Patrick Henry persuades the convention, and thereby the people, of the necessity of revolution through his employment of metaphorical imagery, stylized religious and mythological allusions, and a slew of rhetorical questions. In a blaze of libertarian sentiment, Henry incited the passions of the delegates and set the stage for the most glorious revolution in the history of mankind.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hewes started to turn against the royal government after it sent troops into Boston in 1768. He learned to carry rum to placate sentries. Once, he complained to a captain about a sergeant 's not paying for shoes, then was horrified by how harshly the army punished the man: 300 lashes. Later, he saw a grenadier steal a bundle of clothing; he chose to confront this man privately.…

    • 1708 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1776 Book Review

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages

    1776, the year of our Independence, has been told through the incredible penmanship of author David McCullough for the sake of educating us common folk on the events of that year. He focuses primarily on the military aspects of the Revolution, such as the battles at Dorchester Heights, Long Island, and Trenton. Furthermore, he went through the military chain of command for both the Americans and the British. Prestigious general William Howe led the redcoats against the Americans, who were led by general George Washington. Henry Knox, a thirty-five year old bookseller, and Nathaniel Green, a Quaker at the age of twenty five, were both inexperienced generals in Washington’s army.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Robert Hewes had been wronged by a British soldier, Sergeant Mark Burk, he had something against the British troops. This was his beginning to becoming a patriot in the American Revolution. He played key roles in The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party, and the tarring and feathering of John Malcolm. The author believes that Hewes was standing up for the rights of those living in the colonies because British is taxing them under absurd acts because of the debt acquired during the French and Indian War. Hewes was important within the Boston Tea Party because he was chosen to get the keys from the captain needed to get the tea from the storage of the boat. It is said that Hewes worked alongside John Hancock in dumping the tea into the ocean. This is a great equalizer showing that the common man is just as good as those higher in class and that they should work together.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George Robert Twelves Hewes was considered an ordinary man because of his financial standpoint. Hewes was a shoemaker. Most shoe makers were generally poor during this era due to the simple craftsmanship. The reason why George was put into shoe making was because “No one in his family had the indenture fee to enable him to enter one of the more lucrative trades.”1 This was not the only thing that prevented Hewes from becoming anything but a shoe maker. “George was too small to enter trades that demanded brawn.”1Hewes eventually wanted to escape his life of shoe making through the military. However, Hewes did not fulfill the height requirements of the royal army.1During the summer of 1768, four thousand British soldiers were stationed in the town where Hewes’ shop resided. Hewes claimed he knew how irritating it became to be challenged by British soldiers after curfew.1The soldiers simple annoyance of curfew was not the only thing they had done to Hewes. One soldiers in particular ordered shoes from Hewes. However, the soldier never paid for them. Hewes also says he witnessed a soldier “sneak up behind a woman, felled her with his fist, stripped her of her bonnet, cardinal muff and tippet.”1 It was clear to Hewes that the soldiers were abusive. The colonist must have also witnessed countless attacks similar to what Hewes…

    • 1294 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the eighteenth century in which the Thirteen Colonies that became the United States of America gained independence from the British Empire. This article by David Dzurec explains how the experiences of prisoners of war during the American Revolution helped those fighting to gain American liberty. Dzurec has mentioned that the “barbarous and cruel nature of British treatment of prisoners allowed those, who supported the patriot cause to highlight the difference between themselves and their former colonial masters” In addition the author says, prisoners’ accounts appeared in newspapers, broadsides, and individual volumes, the plight of captive Americans became a form of shorthand…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    18th century America was a revolutionary time of significant change through a battle for independence from the all-controlling Britain. In spite of the many citizens standing up for the rule of the Parliament, others realized the uttermost corrupt rule the Crown had upon the growing colonies. One of the most influential men during this 18th century revolutionary war against Parliament was John Adams. Notably, John Adams had a strong affiliation with independence in America through his work as a lawyer, as well as through his many writings and articles, such as, “Instructions of the Town of Braintree to the Representative (1776),” which pointed out the flaws and wrong-doings the Crown had over the colonies. The influences Adams projected onto the colonies helped guide the colonies to their eventual gaining of independence from Britain.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story "John Adams and the Coming of the Revolution”, author David McCullough discusses how John Adams was asked to defend the British soldiers in court of the soldier’s accusation of man slaughter, following the Boston Massacre. Being such a problematic case that could ruin his reputation, John Adams accepted to defend the soldiers because of his experience in difficult cases, and his strong principles and beliefs. John Adam’s reputation did not even tarnish because of how skillfully he handled the case gaining the respect of the people of Boston.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alfred F. Young’s The Shoemaker and the Revolution is simply a triumph story. Where a man is just not a man but symbolizes a “revolution” in itself. Through the eyes of George Robert Twelves Hewes, the shoemaker; we take a closer look into what events lead to the Revolution and what the people affected by it truly felt. Young’s argues that the three main regards to the defiance of Britain were the Tea Party, Boston Massacre, and the Tarring and Feathering of John Malcolm. This changed the everyday working class colonist (all colonists) to political activists and changed their political and social views dramatically. For example when John Hancock invited Hewes to his home on New Year’s Eve and he was happy to oblige because Hancock was a man that Hewes respected. Many years later that is not the case. Hewes defied towards the Lieutenant Hancock on his ship and refused the take of his hat. Other reasons that not only colonist like Hewes the Shoemaker defied against the British but also common working people. The disrespect that the Red Coats showed these workers made them resist their authority and rebel. In the shoemakers case when giving shoe repair to Sergeant Burk; the officer refused to pay. Many colonists were fed up and they wanted to make a change, take a stand. Like Hewes did, many citizens started to volunteer for rebellious acts such as the night of December 16, 1773 also known as the Tea Party. The Boston Massacre was no different. After that happen, Hewes and other colonists did not go home in sadness; they went home in anger to only come back and fight for what they believed in Liberty and Equality. Protest and boycotts were the rave of the towns because the colonists did not rest until they had change. Hewes lived the dream; he became a militant like he always wanted fighting for America the country they now called their own. These experiences not only changed Hewes…

    • 515 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to "overstep" it's power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Revolution embarked the beginning of the United States of America. A war that lasted eight years, 1775-1783, was able to grant the thirteen colonies the independence they deserved by breaking free of British rule. The war was an effect of the previous French and Indian War, which forced England to tax the American colonist, compelling them to rebel against parliament. From the 1760’s to 1775, many factors lead up to the American Revolution such as the various acts the British Parliament passed to pay the war debt, no representation in parliament, and the American people wanting to gain their independence. “No Taxation without Representation”, a slogan used by the American colonist, was the most important cause of the colonists declaring war for their independence on the British government.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The hard-fought American Revolution against Britain (1775-1783) was the first modern war of liberation against a colonial power. The triumph of American independence seemed to many at the time a divine sign that America and her people were destined for greatness. Military victory fanned nationalistic hopes for a great new literature. Yet with the exception of outstanding political writing, few works of note appeared during or soon after the Revolution.…

    • 5506 Words
    • 23 Pages
    Good Essays