Jack's First Official Book Report

Due this week is Jack's first book report.  He will give an oral summary of the book report in first person and even dress as his character.  He chose to report on a book we was reading, America's Paul Revere.  Here's his work...typed 100% by Jack himself.

America’s Paul Revere

By Esther Forbes

            Hi I am Paul Revere when I was your age I went to school just like you. (Not this school OK.)  You might say it would be really cool to go because you get a cake if you are smart, but if you’re bad they will shake you till your teeth rattle and you would be bored out of your mind because you only learn ABC’s. Anyway and no I am not dumb you get out of school when you are 13. When I was 18 my Dad died, so I became man of the house and became a silversmith plus I had to take care of my family. I was like the best silversmith in all of the 13 colonies. After I did all that silversmith stuff for a few years I volunteered to be In the French-Indian war. I didn’t get paid as much but I knew it was the right thing to do. I was a Lieutenant,you need to be responsible and a good leader to be that, but 4-star General would be better. When I got back the economy was bad.  Silver was a luxury and not many could afford it.   So, I taught myself how to be a dentist and engrave copper so I could afford food for my family.

I got interested in politics and joined the Sons of Liberty. England was also getting poorer so they started enforcing old tax laws to bring in more money.  I felt that there should be no taxation without representation and so did the others in the Sons of Liberty club. I realized that trade was important to Boston and if England taxed Boston then Boston couldn’t do as much trade! England sent over soldiers to make sure people were paying their taxes.  They were called redcoats or regulars. The redcoats didn’t like us and we hated them. The leaders of Boston, including me knew a fight would break out sometime. Well my prediction came true in about a year. It was snowing and I thought nobody riots in a snowstorm. Later it stopped and people came outside. They were more mean then usual. Wise people stayed inside. A solider knocked down a barber’s boy and people thought the redcoat killed him. A fight broke out. Three men and one boy were killed. I exaggerated about it to get people angry ohm. Next!

England removed all the taxes except for a tea tax.  I still felt it was unfair and so did a lot of others.  We called ourselves the Whigs.  England brought a ship of tea to Boston but we refused to allow them to unload it.  After 20 days the tea would have to be sold at an auction, but the Whigs would not allow that to happen.  So, we dressed up in funny costumes and dumped all the tea in the harbor.  I was leading one of the groups that dumped the tea. After we dumped the tea we cleaned the ship. This was a protest not a robbery.  As soon as I got home I was asked to get on my horse and ride to New York and Philadelphia to tell them what happened.  I accomplished the ride in only 11 days, which most people thought impossible. 

England punished Boston and the punishment was much bigger than we expected.  They blocked our harbor with lots of war ships.  They also brought lots of British soldiers.  You couldn’t turn around without bumping into one.  The Sons of Liberty meetings became much more secret.  We made up a spy system where British soldiers couldn’t even sneeze without it being reported to me or another leader. Using this spy system we found out that the redcoats were going to steal all the militia supplies in Concord. I told the rest of the spies to shine one lantern in the Old North Church if by land and two if by sea. John Hancock, Sam Adams, and I got on our horses and at midnight we rode everywhere and warned the minutemen. Once I got to Lexington I got caught!  They said if I made an insult or tried to run they would, well...blast their big rifles.  But, they were the ones to be captured by the minutemen so they ran off and joined the rest of the group.  Before they set me free they took my horse (why not my lantern?) Since I was in Lexington I went to help John Hancock and Sam Adams.  But, John Hancock left a trunk with papers somewhere and we had to get it back before it fell into the hands of the British.  As I carried my half of the dangerous trunk, the British arrived.  There was a bang and the cries of wounded men; the first shot of the revolutionary world was fired.

After the revolutionary war, I went back to being a silversmith and also made bells.  And no I did not make the Liberty Bell if you are wondering so please don’t ask that question.  I told my children to get back because if the bell hit them their head would ring louder than the bells do.  I also made some copper, and did you know the Paul Revere Copper Company is still around today.  I will always be known as the man who yelled “the redcoats are coming” but I was much more than that.  That’s why I wrote this book report.  I’m America’s Paul Revere!