The book Paul Revere’s Ride analysis
1) What is the publication information for the book? Author? Publisher? Date of Publication? Place of Publication?
The book Paul Revere’s Ride gives detailed information about the period of revolution which later led to the development of the democracy of America. The book describes the events that took place during the 17th century on the night of April 18 in the year 1775. The book gives a clear picture of what happened precisely and the explanation of events that steered to the manifestation of each particular step that night. It also gives the directions that followed after the event of the night. The book gives a more remarkable story and reliable information that represent the truth of the author of the book Paul Revere’s Ride is known as David Hackett Fischer, the book was published by Oxford University Press. The book was published on April 19th in 1995 in the USA.
2) What is the thesis of the book?
Paul Revere’s Ride describes the night of the events which were early described in a poem that was written in 1860 by Henry Wadsworth. The poem conveys the story of the midnight ride by Paul revere and the others. During this historical event we realize that Paul was not alone, he was accompanied by, William Dawes Jr. and Dr. Samuel Prescott on the unfortunate night. The poem designates that the ride was taken on the night of the civil war which happened in the United States about a hundred years before the poem was written. The poem did not use the actual events of the night but instead, the exact events were dramatized because it was written for the children’s. The book describes Paul revere ride to Massachusetts town to caution the society about the British soldiers who were marching to Lexington and Concord to seize weapons. Paul used the latent signal, which he directed the people to set it on the top of the old church to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams about the British arrival. The books describe that Paul was not the only rider that night and he did not fully succeed in passing the message that night. Paul encourages the readers to use their own knowledge and ponder about the events of that night to distinguish between the truth and the traditional myth. The book also describes Paul’s background in Boston from childhood life to education life and the social life of how they contributed to his role.
3) What is the scope or outline of the book? What are the key points and major events?
The book tells us about the five fragments of legislation that were constructed with the purpose of punishing the Boston and reestablish the British Power in Massachusetts. This was intended for restructuring the colonial governments. Tensions rose in the midst of the Boston people and during this period Revere became the main source of information because he was regarded as the intelligent person by the colonists and the British.
Gage who was the ruling leader at the time treated the people in a manner that Paul felt that was not right. He strongly followed the set law, and the rules treated the other colonist and the Bostonians wrongly but all along he did not detain Paul despite the claims. During this period the tension was growing among the people of New England and as a result of the port closure in Boston, the affiliation between the British and the Boston people eroded. As a result, Gage was told to seize the ammunition of the Rebel Whigs and the neighboring countryside. During this period Tory Loyalists was also handing out the information about the colonial military and reporting their activities to Gage. Therefore the British royal ministers authorized Gage to seize John Hancock and Samuel Adams.
The book explains that the mission to Concord did not promote the war but instead the march was a way to prepare the people living in the England countryside in 1774. The book describes how the powder armories were seized in the early 1770s. It confirms the attack of Fort William and Mary on 14th December 1774 and the on February 26-27, 1775 the Salem as planned by the general to end the opposition. During this period Paul signaled the alarm to the colonial military and explained everything that transpired. Fischer converses about Joseph Warren’s character as a clearinghouse for data. A boy who took care of the British horses learned about “hell to pay tomorrow” and informed Revere and Warren. They established that the British had a fishy business that they were planning and they warned Hancock and Adams in Lexington.
4) What does reading the book add to your knowledge or perspective on the historical subject? For example, this book illustrated the crucial role Ulysses Grant played in the Civil War and the period afterward.
This book explains the events of the night and gives the chronological information about the precipitated events that led to the war or to prewar. This information is basically drowned from the primary sources of that night.it helps one to understand the order at which the revolution occurred and how the battle started. The explanation of the people involved in the battle and the suffering of the community is clearly stated. The book also explains the after-effects of the war and how leadership roles were misused during the colonial period. He explains the difficulties and the strenuous situation experienced by the farmers and how economic development was affected during this period. The illustration is given for the role of Paul who defended the other colonist and Boston people against the Gage and his good leadership that continues after the war.
5) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book? For example, the strength of this book was using a single incident to make larger points about race in Early America
The strength of this book is: The book uses the primary sources to describe the events that occurred on the night of the ride. The book describes the events that happened prior to the night of the ride and how they participated in the war and revolutionary. It explains the night of the war and the after-effects to the people of Boston. Additionally, the book stated the proceedings of the war as they are without dramatizing which allows easy understanding of the history. The book explains the lack of independence and how it was earned binging out the essence of freedom. Also, the book explains every sign that was used in the text and what it meant at the time.
The weaknesses of this book are: the book mainly majors on the roles of Paul and neglects the others who also played an important role during the war. The book describes the evil leaders in a shallow manner in the text whereas they are the source of all the evils that happened during that night. The patriotism excitement explained in the book can only be understood by the American people but not the historian from all over the globe.
In conclusion, the book describes a part of what happened during the colonial periods and therefore it gives us a clear picture of colonial society. This society is filled with fear of death and they don’t have freedom of expression. Laws are set by the ruling class and the rest must follow them despite how oppressed. During the colonial period countries takes control over other nations in order to dominate the economy of that state. The elements of colonial discussed by Fischer include economic, political and religious elements. In this kind of society, there is a class of the strong people who include the rulers and the class of the weak people, for example, the farmers. The colonialism experienced in Boston was Settler colonialism, Exploitation colonialism, and internal colonialism which led to the rebellion by fighting. He explains that though the battle was a one-night thing it had been planned for a long time. Works Cited