Why is betsy ross a hero

A bunch of revolutionaries asked her to make them a flag. She sewed a flag. End of story. When you set her beside the founding fathers Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc. That would have been heroic. That would have been awesome. Just sewing the thing? Eh, not so much. That's good enough for us. A narrative about Besty Ross and her role in the American Revolution has evolved, but when and how do we evaluate the veracity of the narrative?

Ancient history and all that. Betsy Ross is history, but what happens when someone or a group of someones begins to create a heroic narrative around the actions of a contemporary?

And what if that person is actually a complete scuzzball? Back in the day, many people put both of them up on a pedestal and thereby gave them a platform to to pursue their destructive agendas. Although I agree that people need heroes, I think we as a society need to critically examine the heroic narratives that are currently being created for our modern proto-heroes.

But does a person really have to be in immediate physical danger to be a hero? We have sports heroes who are heroic for doing nothing more than playing a game. But is the account of her contribution to the American Revolution simply a legend? In fact, her One of the leading figures of early American history, Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat.

Born into a Boston family of modest means, Franklin had little formal education. He went on to start a successful printing In the summer of , Joseph Plumb Martin enlisted in the Connecticut state militia at the tender age of 15; he later joined the Continental Army of General George Washington and served nearly seven years on behalf of the Revolutionary cause.

In , the year-old Martin Benedict Arnold was an early American hero of the Revolutionary War who later became one of the most infamous traitors in U. At the outbreak of the war, Arnold participated in the capture of the Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko was a skilled engineer with a military education by the time he arrived in the American colonies from Poland in Offering his services to the revolutionary cause, he masterminded a key British defeat at Saratoga and oversaw the building of military British forces occupied New York in August , and the city would remain a British stronghold and a major naval base for the duration of the Revolutionary War. Though getting information from New York on British troop movements and other plans was critical to General George American Revolution leader John Hancock was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in and a governor of Massachusetts.

The colonial Massachusetts native was raised by his uncle, a wealthy Boston merchant. When his uncle died, Hancock inherited his lucrative As a political activist and state legislator, he spoke out against British efforts to tax the colonists, and pressured merchants to boycott British products.

He also Ross continued to work in her shop until she retired at the age of By , she was completely blind, but she continued to tell the story of how she made the first American flag to her children and grandchildren.

She died peacefully in her sleep on January 30, , a few weeks after her 84th birthday. He presented a paper to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania recalling the story his grandmother told him. No historical records or documentation could be found to verify his claims. Instead, Canby got family members to sign legal documents stating that Ross also told them this important story. On January 2, , the Betsy Ross stamp was issued to celebrate the year anniversary of her birth. It featured an image of Ross and the flag on her lap.

National Women's History Museum, Date accessed. Chicago - Alexander, Kerri Lee. Betsy Ross Works Cited. Betsy Ross House. Independence Hall Association. Accessed January 10, Miller, Marla R. Betsy Ross and the Making of America.

New York: St. Martins Griffin, The National Postal Museum.