Grading Sarah

You've probably never had the nice kid in class that always manages to screw up history in his or her head. I have. In fact in my first year as a teacher. I had the nice boy whose story about the underground railroad had the escaped slaves pulling aside bushes to find the hidden subway tunnel. It appears that a number of college professors have had those students as well. What you do in order to grade those kids is tie yourself into knots looking for a grain of truth you can give a few points to. That's exactly what those "experts" that are telling you that Sarah Palin wasn't wrong about Paul Revere are doing.

The British were perfectly competent soldiers. In the weeks and months before April 19th, British officers, sometimes disguised as civilians, rode out along main routes gathering intelligence about the mood of Massachusetts citizens. There is evidence in letters that they even headed down Bay Road as far as Taunton. On the night of the 19th scouts were sent well ahead of the main British units to make sure the road to Lexington and Concord were clear. Remember that their mission was to capture Patriot leaders John Hancock and Sam Adams in Lexington and colonial munitions in Concord. Paul Revere and two others were sent to warn Hancock and Adams and alert the Minuteman system. His purpose was not to warn the British about anything. The British knew they were likely to face opposition since an early mission to remove powder Charlestown in September, 1774 triggered the Minuteman system and started militias from as far away as Connecticut marching to Boston. The fact that Revere blurted out that the militia had been warned to the British riders who captured him must have come as no surprise to the British, but it does show that Revere was a worthy intellectual predecessor to dear Sarah.

So to sum up, Palin lucked out that Revere was as dumb as she is and blew the mission to the first British guys he ran across. That was not his original purpose. Warning the British wasn't his goal. Sorry Sarah you're getting a C- on this one and only because I don't want to crush your self-esteem.   "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

If a bus pulls up next to you and asks for directions to H.H. Olmsted's Crockery, please send Sarah to the nearest mall.