Historical Overview

Paul Revere was active in the cause of the Revolution in more ways than just delivering messages. He took advantage of his skills as an artist and craftsperson to help his fellow Patriots. In this source set, students will be able to see a variety of examples of how Revere voiced his political opinions through visual and text media. The objects, documents, and images found in this source set also help give more contextual information to the types of grievances the colonists had against England, and some of the events that raised tensions to the point of all-out war. This is a good source set to use when discussing point of view, propaganda, and authorial voice, since Revere and his fellow Patriots had very strong and distinct opinions about how they wanted to interact with England and the King.

Content note: the Illuminations Newspaper Record mentions a boy named Christopher Seider who was killed by gunfire in 1770. Learn more about who he was and how his story unfolded.

Click here for a downloadable version of the Political Voice timeline

Close Reading Questions

• We often read texts looking for author voice or point of view, but we can do the same with images. If you look at the images in this theme (Landing of the Troops, Massacre Engraving, and Massachusetts Spy) can you tell a particular point of view from Paul Revere?
• Illuminations: Paul Revere displayed the illumination described in this article in the windows of his house. Do you think that was a risky thing for him to do? What does it say about his political opinions and feelings that he did that?

Suggested Activities

• In small groups with a handful of other students, decide on a recent event at school that everyone witnessed. Then have each student draw their memory of the event, and compare with eacher others’ drawings. What is the same across all? What are the differences? Have students think about how Paul Revere’s memory of events may be different from other people who were at the same event.
• Make your own paper illumination like the one described in the newspaper article! [click here for instructions] 

Standards

• • MA HSS 2018 Social Studies Standards
    • Practice and Content Standards
      • Grade 3: Topic 6: Massachusetts in the 18th century through the American Revolution
      • Grade 5: Topic 2: Reasons for revolution, the Revolutionary War, and the formation of government
      • Grade 8: Topic 7: Freedom of the Press and News/Media Literacy
      • Grades 6 – 8: Reading Standards for Literacy in the Content Areas: History and Social Science
      • High School USI: Topic 1: Origins of the Revolution and the Constitution