Madison Kuzma

JOHNNY TREMAIN:A HISTORICAL

ANALYSIS

(Zion Tube, 2012)

The movie begins with Johnny Tremain as an arrogant teenage boy. Johnny has an apprenticeship as a silversmith with Mr. Lapham. He dreams of running his own shop in the future. Then, one of Johnny’s hands is severely burned after he accidentally touched molten silver. This causes him to lose his apprenticeship and forces him to find other work. He then meets Rab, a young man who is a part of the Sons of Liberty. Johhny then joins the Sons of Liberty in their fight for rights and meets many historical figures, including Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Joseph Warren.

SUMMARY OF THE FILM

("Johnny tremain (1957)," 2011)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Publisher: The movie is based on the book,

which was published in 1943 by Houghton Miffl in.

Producer: Walt DisneyWalt Disney and his brother, Roy, co-founded Walt Disney Productions, which became one of the world’s most famous motion-picture production companies. He won a total of 22 Academy Awards during his l i fe. Some of his other notable works include the first ful l-length animated fi lm, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves , as well as Fantasia, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and 101 Dalmatians.

Year Published: 1957

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

(Chua, 2008)

Boston Tea Party

HISTORICAL CONTENT

Sons of Liberty

The Revolution

ary War

(Owens, 2012)

(Printfection, 2012)

What’s in the Movie After the Sons of Liber ty pleaded

Governor Hutchinson to send the taxed tea back to England, they met at Old South Church.

At the meet ing, they received the Governor ’s response. He would not al low the tea to be shipped back to England.

At the meet ing, Samuel Adams said , “This meet ing can do nothing more to save the country.” These words were Johnny’s s ignal to b low his whis t le . The Sons of Liber ty, dressed as Indians , heard the whis t le and headed to the Boston Harbor.

There, they dumped al l of the ship’s tea in to the harbor. No damage was done to the ship .

What History Reveals Parl iament passed the Tea Act in

1773 to prevent the East India Company from exper iencing bankruptcy.

Colonis ts especial ly opposed th is tax because i t involved taxat ion wi thout representat ion.

On December 16, 1773, Sam Adams led the Boston Sons of Liber ty, dressed as Mohawk Indians , to the Boston Harbor.

The men boarded the Dartmouth and dumped an ent i re cargo of tea in to the Boston Harbor. The cargo was worth £9,659. No damage was done to the ship .

BOSTON TEA PARTY

What’s in the Movie Mr. James Otis was the founder and

the leader of the group. Rab tel ls Johnny that the Sons of

Liber ty include “everyone in Boston who bel ieves their l iber t ies are worth f ight ing for.”

They met in secret to d iscuss their p lans .

They t ransmit ted messages in secret . ( In the f i lm, Johnny was responsible for del iver ing informat ion.)

They had a “secret knock” so that they could ver i fy who wanted to enter their meet ing place.

What History Reveals The Sons of Liberty formed in the

summer of 1765 and original ly cal led themselves “The Loyal Nine.” The group consis ted of ar t i sans and shopkeepers . Their opposi t ion to the Stamp Act drove them together.

The Sons of Liberty a lso opposed the Townshend Acts , the Tea Tax, and a l l forms of taxat ion wi thout representat ion.

The Sons of Liberty included famous his tor ica l f igures such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Ot is , Paul Revere , and Joseph Warren.

The Sons of Liberty had several r i tuals , inc luding secre t code words, symbols , and medals . They even had a “Liberty Tree”, which is port rayed in the f i lm.

SONS OF LIBERTY

What’s in the Movie Joseph Warren , wi th the he lp o f Johnny

Tremain , f igured ou t tha t the Br i t i sh t roops would be march ing on Concord , Massachuse t t s and tha t they would be coming by sea .

Two lan te rns were l i t in the s teep le of the Old Nor th Church in Bos ton . This s igna led to Pau l Revere tha t the Br i t i sh were coming by sea .

He then proceeded by r id ing th rough the s t ree t s on h i s horse exc la iming , “Turn ou t your mi l i t i a ! The Redcoa t s a re coming!”

Johnny, a long wi th the o the r Pa t r io t s , t r ave led to Lex ing ton , where they faced the Br i t i sh t roops .

There , the f i r s t sho t o f the Revolu t ionary War was f i red . One of the Br i t i sh genera l s was asked who f i red the bu l le t . He responded by say ing , “One of them, one o f us , someone in one of those houses over the re , I don’t know. What d i ffe rence does i t make now?”

What History Reveals

Genera l Thomas Gage was o rdered to des t roy the Pa t r io t s ’ mi l i t a ry s to res in Concord , Masachusse t t s . At midn igh t on Apr i l 19 , 1775 , 650-900 t roops l e f t Bos ton and c rossed the Char les River.

On tha t n igh t , Pau l Revere wai ted wi th Wi l l i am Dawes fo r a s igna l f rom the s teep le o f the Old Nor th Church . I f one l an te rn g lowed , i t mean t tha t the Br i t i sh were coming by land . I f two g lowed, the Br i t i sh were coming by sea . Af te r the two lan te rns g lowed, Pau l Revere se t o ff on h i s famous r ide .

The Revolu t ion began on Apr i l 19 , 1775 when “Amer ican Minutemen and Br i t i sh Redcoa t s exchanged f i r e…across Lexing ton Green ,” (George , 2005) .

I t i s unknown which s ide f i r ed the f i r s t sho t . However, the Redcoa t s heard the sho t . This resu l ted in the Br i t i sh f i r ing a t the mi l i i t a .

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

CRITIQUE OF MEDIA

After comparing the fi lm with historical information, I have found that the fi lm is accurate in many ways. It provides insight into colonial times and events. It includes signifi cant historical events such as the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution. It also includes several historical fi gures such as Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and Joseph Warren.

The movie, though, is “Disneyfi ed”; it does not give insight into the pain, death, and suff ering that came with the time period. (After all, that aspect of colonial life would not be very “family friendly.”)

CRITIQUE OF MEDIA

(Toto, 2012)

Importance of Religion

HISTORICAL CONTEXTS

The Quest for God-Given

Rights

British Support

What’s in the Movie When Johnny claims that he is able

to replace Jonathon Lyte’s p iece of f ine s i lver, Mr. Lapham quotes Proverbs 16: “Pride goeth before dest ruct ion on the holy spir i t before a fal l .”

When Mr. Lapham has diff icul ty replacing Mr. Lyte’s p iece of s i lver, he says , “God’s wi l l i s p lain . Mr. Lyte wi l l have to f ind another Smith .”

When Johnny breaks the Sabbath laws by t ry ing to replace Mr. Lyte’s s i lver on a Sunday, he burns his hand on molten s i lver. His in jury was seen as a punishment f rom God.

What History Reveals

The f i rs t colonis ts came to the New World in hopes of achieving rel ig ious f reedom.

The colonies’ or ig inal governments required colonis ts to support a specif ic church, regardless of individual pract ices and bel iefs .

In the 1600’s , es tabl ishments such as Rhode Is land and Pennsylvania encouraged rel ig ious f reedom for al l .

IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION

(Sanders, 2011)

Before the Revolut ionary War begins , Mr. Oti s addresses the Sons of Liberty:

Mr. Oti s : “The fa ta l sho t wi l l come [ f rom] whoever i s to pu l l the t r igger. When i t does , then f igh t we mus t and f igh t we wi l l . But fo r what? This i s the th ing we mus t know—that the whole wor ld mus t know: For what do we f igh t?

Paul Revere : “To r id ourse lves of these…Redcoats .”

Mr. Oti s : “That ’s no reason for b lood on our land , Pau l . …We are not go ing off in to a c iv i l war jus t to ge t them out o f Bos ton . Tel l me why, then . Why do we f igh t?”

Samuel Adams : “To end ty rannous taxa t ion .”

Mr. Oti s : “Someth ing more impor tan t than our prec ious pocketbooks . But what i s i t ?”

Johnny Tremain : “The r igh ts o f Engl i shmen.”

Mr. Oti s : “Rights , yes . But why s top wi th Engl i shmen? Is the Ear th so smal l tha t there can only be room for one people? Or can we here f igh t fo r men and women and ch i ld ren a l l over the wor ld? For th i s we can have war. The ba t t l es we sha l l win over the wors t in England wi l l benef i t the bes t in England un t i l the end of t ime. Even as we shoot down Br i t i sh so ld iers , we wi l l be winning r igh ts the i r ch i ld ren sha l l en joy forever…and the peoples o f the wor ld…shal l see f reedom r i s ing l ike a new sun in the wes t . For th i s we f igh t—those na tura l r igh ts God has g iven every man.”

In the end, the co lonis ts were “victor ious” because they

“were motivated and uni f ied by a shared cause , whi le the Bri t i sh were

f ight ing a war in which they had no personal s take ,” ("Do you know," 2010) .

THE QUEST FOR GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS

What’s in the Movie When Jonathon Lyte and Admira l

Montagu, both weal thy members of soc ie ty, are d iscuss ing the tea , Montagu expresses tha t he fee ls i t would have been a “misfor tune” i f the tea had been shipped back to England.

I f the tea was not c la imed wi th in 20 days , i t would be turned over to the Governor, who would auct ion i t off . Thei r d iscuss ion revealed tha t Lyte p lanned to buy the tea a t the auct ion a t a reduced pr ice wi th hopes of making a prof i t off of i t .

After Joseph Warren and Genera l Gage d iscussed Lord Chatham’s address to the House of Lords , Gage expresses tha t , though he admires Chatham, he fee ls i t i s h is duty to remain loyal to the one in power: the King .

What History Reveals

Colonis ts tha t supported Bri ta in were referred to as Loyal is t s .

Loyal is t s d id not want the co lonies to ga in independence f rom Bri ta in .

Though many Loyal is t s d id be l ieve tha t the colonies had “suffered a t the hands of the Bri t i sh” , they “hoped tha t a peacefu l reconci l ia t ion wi th [ the] Bri t i sh government was poss ib le ,” (Ful ler) .

Many Loyal is t s were weal thy landowners or people tha t possessed c lose pol i t ica l and/or business t ies to Bri ta in .

BRITISH SUPPORT

("The loyalist flag,")

ADDITIONAL FACTS

1. The author of the book Johnny Tremain , Esther Forbes, began writing the book on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

2. The book received the Newberry Medal, which is awarded annually to the best piece of children’s literature.

3. In Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, there is an area called “Liberty Square.” At its center, there is a “liberty tree” filled with lanterns, just as the tree is seen in the movie. The film was the inspiration for this area.

4. The film was originally a two-part episode featured in the Disneyland television series.

5. In the 1950’s (the time during which the movie was made), there was a large amount of media addressing the issue of teenage rebellion. In fact, in 1954, a Congressional sub-committee participated in televised hearings that addressed the causes for “juvenile delinquency” (Olwell). This issue of teenage rebellion could have influenced the way in which Johnny was portrayed in the film.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

CITATIONS

Siry, S . E. (2012) . def iance of the pat r iots : The boston tea par ty and the making of america . The His torian , 100. Retr ieved from ht tp : / /go.galegroup.com/ps/ret r ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T002&searchId=R1&resul tLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=9&contentSet=GALE|A284221717&&docId=GALE|A284221717&docType=GALE&role=

Boston tea par ty. In (1987) . Benet ' s Reader 's Encyclopedia (p . 116) . HarperCol l ins Publ ishers . Retr ieved f rom ht tp: / /go.galegroup.com/ps/ret r ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resul tLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=3&contentSet=GALE|A18034424&&docId=GALE|A18034424&docType=GALE&role=

Tea act (1754-1783) . In (1997) . American Eras . Detroi t , MI: Gale Retr ieved from ht tp : / /go.galegroup.com/ps/ret r ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resul tLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=1&contentSet=GALE|A145480783&&docId=GALE|A145480783&docType=GALE&role=

GENERAL REFERENCES

Alli t t , P. (2010). how to succeed in pol i t ics . The National Interest , 36. Retr ieved from ht tp: / /go.galegroup.com/ps/retr ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T002&searchId=R6&resultLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=4&contentSet=GALE|A229714675&&docId=GALE|A229714675&docType=GALE&role=

Full cast and crew for johnny tremain . (n .d.) . Retr ieved from ht tp: / /www.imdb.com/t i t le / t t0050567/ful lcredi ts

Johnny tremain: Key facts . (2012). Retr ieved from ht tp: / /www.sparknotes.com/l i t / johnnytremain/facts .html

Walt disney biography . (2012). Retr ieved from ht tp: / /www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533?page=3

Chua, J . M. (Producer) . (2008). Quote of the day: Walt disney on nature . [Web Photo] . Retr ieved from ht tp: / /www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/quote-of- the-day-walt-disney-on-nature .html

Slavicek, L. C. (2000). Rel igious freedom in colonial america. Cobblestone , 10. Retr ieved from ht tp: / /go.galegroup.com/ps/retr ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T003&searchId=R2&resultLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=3&contentSet=GALE|A62495544&&docId=GALE|A62495544&docType=GALE&role=

GENERAL REFERENCES (CONT.)

Ward, S . , & Goldstein , Y. (2002) . Johnny tremain: Esther forbes . (p . 2) . New York, NY: Spark Publ ishing. Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /s tat ic .schoolrack.com/f i les /9155/110378/ johnnytremain.pdf

[Web log message] . (2010) . Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / / thedisneyf i lms.blogspot .com/2010/01/ johnny-t remain-1957.html

Olwel l , R. A. (n .d .) . Johnny t remain - rebel wi th a cause. Retr ieved from ht tp : / /www.notevenpast .org/watch/ johnny-t remain-rebel-cause

Do you know your compan 'ys core values? . (2010, Aug) . Adminis t rat ive Profess ional Today. Retr ieved f rom ht tp: / /go.galegroup.com/ps/ ret r ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T004&searchId=R3&resul tLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=1&contentSet=GALE|A233623119&&docId=GALE|A233623119&docType=GALE&role=

The sons of l iber ty . (n .d .) . Retr ieved from ht tp : / /www.ushis tory.org/declarat ion/related/sons .htm

Sons of l iber ty . (n .d .) . Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /www.americansonsof l iber ty.com/sonsof l iber ty.h tm

GENERAL REFERENCES (CONT.)

Ful ler, L. (n .d .) . Patr iot , loyal is t , or neutral? you decide. Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /www.converse.edu/s i tes /defaul t / f i les /s i te- f i les /Academics/NEH/Patr io tLoyal is torNeutral_YouDecide.pdf

Paul revere: An american patr io t . (n .d .) . Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /www.enchantedlearning.com/his tory/us/colonial / revere/

George, P. B. (2005) . The shot heard round the world . American History, 43. Retr ieved from ht tp : / /go.galegroup.com/ps/ret r ieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=AONE&userGroupName=lom_accessmich&tabID=T002&searchId=R1&resul tLis tType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosi t ion=3&contentSet=GALE|A262692196&&docId=GALE|A262692196&docType=GALE&role=

Batt le of lexington and concord. (n .d .) . Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /www.wpi .edu/academics/mil i tary/ lexcon.html

Toto, C. (Producer) . (2012) . Disney-netf l ix deal boosts s t reaming 's fu ture, cable 's per i l . [Web Graphic] . Retr ieved f rom ht tp : / /www.brei tbar t .com/Big-Hollywood/2012/12/05/disney-netf l ix-deal-boosts-s t reaming

GENERAL REFERENCES (CONT.)

Zion Tube. (Photographer). (2012). Johnny tremain (1957 . [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.zionvision.com/movies/ziontube/johnny-tremain-1957/

Owens, E. (Photographer). (2012). Retrieved from http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/26/texas-schools-teach-boston-tea-party-as-act-of-terrorism/

Printfection. (Producer). (2012). Liberty tree flag . [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.printfection.com/LibertyJoinorDie/Liberty-Tree-Flag/_s_477732

(n.d.). The loyalist f lag - the queen anne union of 1707 . [Web Graphic]. Retrieved from http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Monuments/Loyalist-Flag.php

(2011). Johnny tremain (1957). (2011). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://cinemanostalgia.net/1950s/johnny-tremain-1957/

Sanders, K. (Producer). (2011). The cross: God's revelation of love . [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://kuyakevin.blogspot.com/2011/04/cross-gods-revelation-of-love.html

IMAGES AND MEDIA