250 Years of Us Book Club: The Shoemaker and the Tea Party

Program Type:

Arts, Culture, & Literature

Age Group:

Adult (18+)
  • Registration is required for this event.
  • Registration will close on February 26, 2026 @ 5:00pm.

Event Details

In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, this book club explores history through both fiction and non-fiction that challenge familiar narratives and invite fresh perspectives on the American past. Each selection encourages readers to look beyond the textbook version of history and consider the people, choices, and hidden stories that shaped the nation.

February Selection: The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred F. Young

Access this e-book (after logging into catalog.dallaslibrary.org with your Dallas Public Library card) with no wait through EBSCO e-books: https://research.ebsco.com/plink/d617283b-fd2e-3885-b56a-a1ac08cf2316 

February’s selection highlights the life of George Robert Twelves Hewes, a Boston shoemaker whose experiences place an ordinary working man at the center of extraordinary historical events. The Shoemaker and the Tea Party traces Hewes’s role in the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution, showing how memory, class, and politics influence whose stories are remembered and whose are forgotten. The book challenges traditional hero-focused histories by revealing how everyday people helped create—and later interpret—the revolutionary era.

Excerpts from Ken Burns' THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION will be shown in the book discussion group. These clips have been made possible through a library grant from PBS.  

This event is online only via Zoom. Register below for the Zoom link.

This virtual Genealogy & History program is part of Dallas Public Library's 250 Years of Us: Reading America's Past, Writing Our Future. 

Anyone can join our Amazing Race for Independence challenge and win sports tickets, State Park passes and more!

Corporate funding for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was provided by Bank of America. Major funding was provided by The Better Angels Society and its members Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine with the Crimson Lion Foundation; and the Blavatnik Family Foundation. Major funding was also provided by David M. Rubenstein; The Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Family Foundation; Lilly Endowment Inc.; and the following Better Angels Society members: Eric and Wendy Schmidt; Stephen A. Schwarzman; and Kenneth C. Griffin with Griffin Catalyst. Additional support for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was provided by: The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations; The Pew Charitable Trusts; Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A. Darling; Park Foundation; and the following Better Angels Society members: Gilchrist and Amy Berg; Perry and Donna Golkin; The Michelson Foundation; Jacqueline B. Mars; Kissick Family Foundation; Diane and Hal Brierley; John H. N. Fisher and Jennifer Caldwell; John and Catherine Debs; The Fullerton Family Charitable Fund; Philip I. Kent; Gail Elden; Deborah and Jon Dawson; David and Susan Kreisman; The McCloskey Family Charitable Trust; Becky and Jim Morgan; Carol and Ned Spieker; Mark A. Tracy; and Paul and Shelley Whyte. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION was made possible, in part, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

Dallas Public Library programs are free and open to the public. To request accommodation, call 214-670-7809.

Register for this event