The political events that unfolded in Boston in the 1770s and the following developments leading to the Revolution were driven by a range of factors and supported by a huge number of people. However, of all citizens, George Robert Twelves Hewes stood out as a particularly important figure in the political change. George Robert Twelves Hewes’ actions as those of an ordinary citizen prove that, although the specifics of the Boston environment implied that it defined the course of the revolution on the surface, the ubiquitous need for liberty that was present in every city could not be attributed to a particular place.
Even though the tendency to view George Robert Twelves Hewes as an extraordinary person standing out of the rest is understandable, claiming that he was the only person who could have done something as revolutionary as some authors devalue the rapid spreading of the idea of freedom that defined the outcomes of the Revolution (Moses xv). Instead, one should view the attempts that he made to contribute to the Revolution as a conscious effort and the result of the change in the perception of people’s national identity.
The unwillingness to single out George Robert Twelves Hewes as someone exceptional is not aimed at diminishing his contribution to the Revolution. Instead, it serves to prove that the revolution was a conscious step made by the citizens of America, who were eager to gain political, economic, and sociocultural independence from the UK.
Thus, it is the transformation undergone by Hewes that deserves more attention. By shaping his personality, goals, and skills, Hewes managed to become the image of the national support of the Revolution. Claiming that Hewes was the perfect person and the main factor owing to which America managed to defeat the United Kingdom. There is the necessity to acknowledge the reality of the environment that America represented when it started to fight. Without Hewes, the Revolution would not have been possible; however, if Hewes had not provided the means for promoting the evolution of political relationships between the men early developing the United States and other political players within the global field, such as the government of the target state and the adjacent one.
Even though Hewes did show incredible courage and loyalty to the political movement aimed at gaining freedom from the UK, he still was a product of his time. Indeed, the person willing to make the United States separate from the British rule could only have emerged in the environment that involved a rather stifling control of the UK over the changes that took place in the US background. Thus, claiming that Hewes was ahead of their time or that he represented an inimitable case of a person willing to fight for their country.
The change that Hewes brought o the U.S. has shown that the perception of the individual self and the following cultural transformation is possible within a particular setting nee to be discussed as a rather contentious topic. The link between the individual characteristics of Hewes and the development of the Revolution proves that the alterations in the political field of a state are typically affected by individuals. Thus, the changes that Hewes caused in the political background of the U.S need to be remembered as the powerful effort made by the representatives of the future American society.
Work Cited
Moses, Wilson Jeremiah. Thomas Jefferson: A Modern Prometheus. Cambridge University Press, 2019.