Henry Wadsworth Longfellow first published “Paul Revere’s Ride” in 1861, in the January issue of The Atlantic Monthly. The poem appeared a crucial moment for the United States, as South Carolina seceded from the nation and civil war loomed. In this context, Longfellow wanted to remind northern readers of the revolutionary spirit of freedom on which the U.S. was founded. To accomplish this goal, he composed a narrative poem recounting the historic ride Paul Revere took on the night of April 18, 1775. Revere famously rode through the Boston countryside to warn his fellow patriots that the British were coming for them. Spreading this message enabled the revolutionaries to prepare for the battles at Lexington and Concord, which in turn sparked the war for American independence. The poem’s speaker is someone who believes strongly in the importance of remembering history, and they are motivated by a powerful vision in which the past persists into and influences the present. This vision mimics Longfellow’s own attempt to influence his present moment. By centering a revolutionary figure so closely associated with the ideal of freedom, Longfellow aimed to intervene in a contemporary debate about the abolition of slavery and its central question about who gets to be free.

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