Rewriting the Legend of Paul Revere
Every schoolchild knows the story, but most of it is wrong
Even if Revere wasn't the lone savior of Longfellow's poem, there's no doubt he and his fellow riders were the critical spark that ignited the Revolution. When British troops marched into Lexington that morning, the first shots of the war were fired, leaving eight colonists dead. Thanks to the riders' efforts, militias from all over the countryside were mobilized to take their revenge, driving the British all the way back to Boston. "The Die was cast," John Adams would later write, "the Rubicon crossed." The Revolutionary War had begun. It would take a bit longer for the same to be true of the legend of Paul Revere.
Reader Comments
People hear what they want to hear
A poem or a song isn't a valid historical source. That all those school books have used Longfellow's poem as fact, depite the availability of Revere's own contradictory account, shows that people will believe what they want to believe and falsify history to serve thier own purposes. The dates might be right, but much of the history taught in schools is a fairy tale. Most people still think Chritopher Columbus was a hero, rather than the man who was carried back to Spain in chains for his genocidal persecution of peaceful native peoples.
paul
im doing a research paper on him this was very helpfull
PAUL REVERE
If paul revere was still alive i would to met him.I know a lot about paul revere i have researching him. i think he is a very imporetent man this state.
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