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nNewnYear’s Day is the most widely celebrated holiday in the worldn(although not everyone celebrates on the same day!).
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nOf course, somenbabies are born on this auspicious day every year, as well. Today wencelebrate the birthdays of Paul Revere and Betsy Ross, two famousnAmerican “patriots.”
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nWhatnthe word patriot means is “one who is loyal to one’sncountry.” Interestingly, Americans tend to use the word fornhistorical figures who were actively rebelling against their countryn– because Britain was the ruling nation of the American colonies.nSo early American patriots were people who were loyal to the idea ofna new nation – but were not a bit loyal to their actual country.nRight?
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PaulnRevere (born on this day in 1735) was a silversmith. He is mostnfamous for alerting Colonial militia that the British forces werenapproaching Concord. During the Revolutionary War, he acted as ancourier and printed local currency; he also set up a powder mill thatnproduced tons of gunpowder for George Washington’s Continental Army.nHe opened a hardware store, served in the Massachusetts militia, andnbecame a foundryman. (That means he learned to make iron and brassnand other metal castings.) His company, Revere Copper and Brass,nInc., grew to be quite large.
PaulnRevere (born on this day in 1735) was a silversmith. He is mostnfamous for alerting Colonial militia that the British forces werenapproaching Concord. During the Revolutionary War, he acted as ancourier and printed local currency; he also set up a powder mill thatnproduced tons of gunpowder for George Washington’s Continental Army.nHe opened a hardware store, served in the Massachusetts militia, andnbecame a foundryman. (That means he learned to make iron and brassnand other metal castings.) His company, Revere Copper and Brass,nInc., grew to be quite large.n
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nOnenreason that Revere is so famous for one little event in his excitingnand varied life is that his “midnight ride” was dramatized innHenry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
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BetsynRoss (born Elizabeth Griscom on this day in 1752) was a seamstress.nShe is credited with sewing the first American flag, but there isn’tnevidence that this story is true. She was one of several flag makersnin Philadelphia, and she changed the six-pointed stars to easiernfive-pointed stars. However, in 1857, twenty years after Ross’sndeath, her grandson William J. Canby presented a paper claiming thatnshe had made “with her hands” the first flag of the UnitednStates. The story appealed to Americans who were eager for storiesnabout the Revolutionary War and thirsty for patriotic role models forngirls, so the story was quickly accepted and widely retold.
BetsynRoss (born Elizabeth Griscom on this day in 1752) was a seamstress.nShe is credited with sewing the first American flag, but there isn’tnevidence that this story is true. She was one of several flag makersnin Philadelphia, and she changed the six-pointed stars to easiernfive-pointed stars. However, in 1857, twenty years after Ross’sndeath, her grandson William J. Canby presented a paper claiming thatnshe had made “with her hands” the first flag of the UnitednStates. The story appealed to Americans who were eager for storiesnabout the Revolutionary War and thirsty for patriotic role models forngirls, so the story was quickly accepted and widely retold.n
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nAndnquite probably false.
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nThentake-away from both of today’s famous birthdays is that historyncontains exaggeration and even myth. We can learn and enjoy popularnhistory, but we can also dig a little deeper to see what evidencensays about our past.
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Fornmore about New Year’s Day, see this and this other earlier posts.
Fornmore about New Year’s Day, see this and this other earlier posts.n
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