Primary Sources- Blog 1 Shelby Setzer

So at first I had trouble locating primary sources that would be beneficial to my topic. I knew that they were out there, but finding them was a little more difficult than I had originally had thought. I searched key words like: taverns, colonial, beer, ale, secret meeting, founding fathers, etc. I really had nothing but air to stand on. I was struggling. But then I found a breakthrough, in the form of Paul Revere. Then I found another breakthrough, and another. This really started happening during our class last Thursday in the computer lab. That work day was extremely beneficial to me and my research.

Paul Revere's ride is nothing short of famous. It is most commonly told in song, which I think is an interesting and fantastic way to spread lore, as well as, facts. Songs are catchy, and easily remembered. The song itself hasn't been the most useful primary source because it does not directly talk about the taverns, but I recently watched a History channel episode which detailed Revere's ride being a secret event and not the screaming "The British are coming!" as so commonly believed. I am still in search for the History Channel's citation in this episode, but I know it is there.

What I have found, however, is conclusive proof that revolutionary meetings were indeed held in taverns. Paul Revere stated, "We held our meetings at the Green-Dragon tavern. We were so careful that our meetings should be kept secret, that every time we met, every person swore upon the Bible, that they would not discover any of our transactions, but to Messrs. Hancock, Adams, Doctors Warren, Cisuacim, and one or two more" (Revere, 310). I have not really dug into all of Revere's diary entries (there are many), but here is conclusive proof that these meetings, meant to spark rebellion, we held in the safety of town taverns.