From a shoemaker’s apprentice to a highly respected and important figure of the American Revolution, the life of George Robert Twelves Hewes in The Shoemaker and the Tea Party is thoroughly chronicled. Fundamentally divided into two parts, this book by Historian Alfred F. Young described Hewes’ experiences during his participation in perhaps the most important events in American history. Although Young’s work may appear as a simple historical biography from the cover, readers like me will soon discover that it is much more than that.
Using James Hawkes’ and Benjamin Thatcher’s separate biographies, Young was able, to the best of his ability, construct Hewes’ life. Though, not exactly without criticizing the two accounts first. The constant ‘lapse’ between first person and third person and lack of knowledge of the revolution in Hawke’s version gave it, according to Young, an ”as told to” and ‘[padded out]’ flavor (Young 8). On the other hand, Thatcher ‘could not resist embellishing Hewes’ stories or inventing dialogue,’ thus his version, ‘while fuller than [Hawkes’] is also more flawed’ (Young 9). I found Young’s comments on these accounts as one of his many achievements for this book because it becomes obvious that Young had done intensive research to get an accurate description of Hewes’ life. Such hardworking scholarship shows how qualified Young is to be the author of this book.
The beginning half of the book, I found, was the most intriguing. It primarily focused on Hewes’ exceptional memory. He could remember many details of his life, from early childhood to the War of 1812, which is admittingly impressive. Hewes was even able to recount how things looked and tasted. However, according to Young, Hewes’ recollection of his own emotions was the ‘most important’ because emotions are what makes memories vivid (Young 11). Either way, one memory, in particular, had Young skeptical. Hewes believed that he had worked with John Hancock during the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which is highly unlikely due to Hancock’s societal status at the time. This formed the core of Young’s understanding of memory: it can be constructive. Though ‘on balance,’ Hewes’ memory was ‘inevitably…shaped by his values, attitudes, and temperament’ (Young 12). To me, this is possible as people can recall events that did not happen and such falsity can typically be formed by personal principles.
The other half of the book examined the possible reasons as to why Hewes faded from history after the American Revolution, basically becoming a historical memory. He eventually emerged due to becoming a subject of interest. Furthermore, young also considered how the term the Boston ‘Tea Party’ came to be in this part. Although I found the first half of the book more enjoyable, I cannot argue with how well written and interesting this section was.
If Young had organized The Shoemaker and the Tea Party any differently, I would have gotten a completely different perspective on its content. Reading about Hewes’ memories first before learning more about his life and participation in events like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the tarring and feathering of Malcolm gave me the impression that even if his memories are flawed, they are still important. Furthermore, it allowed me to understand the reasons behind some of Hewes’ actions, such as his anger after being rejected to go in the military for being too short.
I was never disappointed the aspects of the book, except for one thing. I, unfortunately, do not read many historical books to compare off of, so I do not know if this is common, but I found no satisfaction in the ending. There was no real conclusion of the book. I can say, however, that when I began to read The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, I expected a simple, third-person biography about one particular person. I cannot say that I ended up disappointed. In fact, it was better than what I had imagined. Not only that but reading Young’s opinion and view on different topics can be eye-opening and quite enlightening.
Moreover, the book contributed to my understanding of the topic: the American Revolution. I never knew who exactly dumped chests of tea into Boston harbor, all I knew was that it was done by members of the Sons of Liberty dressed as Natives. It was very fascinating to read that Hewes himself participated in it and what he did. I also never had in mind that bystanders would try to pocket handfuls of tea and could be seized for it. When I read it, it sounded like an everyday rebellion. Well, that everyday thing turned into history that caused a chain reaction to other events that would eventually lead to American Independence.
In conclusion, I believe that the purpose of The Shoemaker and the Tea Party was to discuss Hewes’ memories and life in great detail. The organization, such as the division into parts and the order of topics, proved effective. The language used is fit for an audience with high-school (and up) reading levels who have a basic understanding of history. I would only recommend it to a select few, as not everyone has an interest in history. Either way, I enjoyed this book, as it was a nice educational break-time read.
