Literature of the Revolution
Maggie Theel 1st period
Some influential authors
Mercy Otis Warren
"The study of the human character opens at once a beautiful and a deformed picture of the soul."
Thomas Paine
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Character is higher than intellect. A great soul will be strong to live as well as think."
Biographies...
Mercy Otis Warren
MORE ABOUT MERCY (FUN FACTS)
She and her husband would read the newspaper together. She had dark brown hair and her favorite color was blue. She loved wearing blue dresses and bonnets with lace edges. She strongly believed in woman's suffrage, independence, liberty, and in the power of the written word.
RIP Mercy Otis Warren
Wednesday, Oct 19, 1814, 07:00 AM
Winslow House, Careswell Street, Marshfield, Plymouth, MA
Thomas Paine
On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. His father had high hopes for his son, but by the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. Paine began apprenticing for his father, but again, he failed. So, at 19, Paine went to sea. However, he soon returned home and in 1768 became an excise officer (tax collector) in England. Thomas didn't really live up to the job, getting discharged from his post twice in four years, but as a hint at what was to come, he published The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), arguing for a pay raise. In 1774, by complete coincidence, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who helped him emigrate to Philadelphia.
His career in journalism took off while in Philadelphia and Thomas Paine suddenly became a household name. In 1776, he published Common Sense, a famous political pamphlet arguing for American independence.
He joined with the Continental Army and failed as a soldier, but wrote The American Crisis (1776-83), which helped inspire the Army. This pamphlet was so popular that (as a percentage of the population), it was read by or read to more people than today watch the Super Bowl.
However after that Paine's help in the revolutionary cause sort of dropped off the map. He returned to Europe and pursued other careers, such as working on a smokeless candle and an iron bridge. In 1791-92, he wrote The Rights of Man in response to the French Revolution. This work caused Paine to be put in jail in England for his anti-monarchist views. He would have been arrested, but he fled for France.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
RIP Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wednesday, Dec 20, 1882, 07:45 AM
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Bedford Street, Concord, MA
Political Articles of the Revolution
Declaration of Independence
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/President-Thomas-Jefferson/14652514811
Twitter: @ThomasJefferson
Common Sense
Poems of the Revolution
Concord Hymn
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
This elegant poem about the battles of Lexington and Concord commemorated and celebrated the first battle of the revolution. It was originally written to be performed as a hymn at Concord's independence day celebration and dedicating of the Obelisk memorial. Emerson's quote "and fired the shot heard 'round the world" became a famous quote that sums up the entire revolutionary era. Emerson's simplistic rhyme scheme puts a subtle emphasis on every line, every stanza. "To die, and leave their children free" really shows how these minutemen weren't just fighting for themselves and their way of life, they were fighting for their futures and their children's futures.
Independence Day Celebration
Tuesday, Jul 4, 1837, 03:00 PM
Monument Street, Concord, MA
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
"A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere."
This excerpt from the poem tells how Paul Revere's warning cry wasn't in distress, but defiance. In the darkest hour there is still one voice that will call out to help.
Full Poem