Here is why I was a history major.
Why historian's are so misunderstood. Why I moved to France and moved back to submerse myself into Lincoln's life for 12 hours a day.
Let me step back. I have two devotionals. Though I don't get to read them both every day, usually when I get to read one, I get to read the other. The first is Biblically based called "Keeping God in the small stuff". I really enjoy it. It's exactly what I've been looking for for years. The other is a book that my mom got me for my birthday this year (fyi: My mom has bought me a book for my birthday for the past 27 years). It is for all intensive purposes an American devotional. It is called "The American Patriot's Almanac". For those of you who don't know or have forgotten, I'm a deep hearted patriot. The 1776 kind. I even have the outfit (that NONE of you have forgotten, I'm sure).
Moving on, today's clip of history was about the Liberty Tree. In case you can't read it, let me put what I read:
"On August 14, 1765, a group of Bostonians calling themselves the Sons of Liberty gathered under a a large elm tree to protest the Stamp Act imposed by England. From a branch they hung an effigy of the Boston official in charge of administering the hated Stamp Act tax. The elm became known as the Liberty Tree." (William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb)
First, class, does everyone know what an effigy is?
effigy - Definition
[ĕf́ə-jē]| (n.) | A crude figure or dummy representing a hated person or group. |
| (n.) | A likeness or image, especially of a person. |
Dictionary.com · The American Heritage® Dictionary
That's right. Let me paint this picture. One night in Boston, a group of very angry people met in the center of town and had something probably resembling a scarecrow, tied a rope around his neck and hung him from a tree. Though Sam Adams (the beer) and Harppon were not there, there were pleanty of barley and hops around. This had been a cumulative expression. It did not come about because of something that happpened yesterday, it was about things that had been happening for years. So, here we are, downtown 1765 Boston, with a stuffed man hanging from a tree. The night sky is in full force and so is the Boston Mob. Yes, that's what the "Sons of Liberty" really were. This is where the nice story from my book gets fun. Why I enjoyed studying history. This is the stuff that they don't publish in the textbooks.
Andrew Oliver was hung in effigy. An angry mob yellping and yelling in enthusiasm. Enibriated and years of anger comming to a head, it is decided that making a lifesize voodo doll made to look like a man whose home and businness are within walking distance is simply not sufficient. The business was closest. The mob marched off to his business and took down the building brick by brick. BRICK BY BRICK. Just stop and think about how long that must have taken in 1765. No sledge hammers. No electrical machinery. Talk about some serious addrenelin. After accomplishing this (please think about what time this must have been) they headed back to the pub, had some more barely and hops, and determined that there was still more to be done. Next they went out (a few miles out of town) and did the same fate to Mr. Oliver's personal home that they had done to his business. Lucky for him, he was hiding out somewhere else and was not home at the time. Then they returned to Boston where I think they made one more stop at the pub before retiring home for the, well...morning at that point.
Wouldn't you have stayed awake in history class if they were filled with stories like this one? Or am I just a dork?
That's right. Let me paint this picture. One night in Boston, a group of very angry people met in the center of town and had something probably resembling a scarecrow, tied a rope around his neck and hung him from a tree. Though Sam Adams (the beer) and Harppon were not there, there were pleanty of barley and hops around. This had been a cumulative expression. It did not come about because of something that happpened yesterday, it was about things that had been happening for years. So, here we are, downtown 1765 Boston, with a stuffed man hanging from a tree. The night sky is in full force and so is the Boston Mob. Yes, that's what the "Sons of Liberty" really were. This is where the nice story from my book gets fun. Why I enjoyed studying history. This is the stuff that they don't publish in the textbooks.
Andrew Oliver was hung in effigy. An angry mob yellping and yelling in enthusiasm. Enibriated and years of anger comming to a head, it is decided that making a lifesize voodo doll made to look like a man whose home and businness are within walking distance is simply not sufficient. The business was closest. The mob marched off to his business and took down the building brick by brick. BRICK BY BRICK. Just stop and think about how long that must have taken in 1765. No sledge hammers. No electrical machinery. Talk about some serious addrenelin. After accomplishing this (please think about what time this must have been) they headed back to the pub, had some more barely and hops, and determined that there was still more to be done. Next they went out (a few miles out of town) and did the same fate to Mr. Oliver's personal home that they had done to his business. Lucky for him, he was hiding out somewhere else and was not home at the time. Then they returned to Boston where I think they made one more stop at the pub before retiring home for the, well...morning at that point.
Wouldn't you have stayed awake in history class if they were filled with stories like this one? Or am I just a dork?
No comments:
Post a Comment