![Picture](/uploads/2/9/0/0/29008337/1399428586.png)
Longfellow, born in 1807, years after the actual Revolutionary War; the poem about Paul Revere is what made Revere famous. There were actually three riders that night, and Revere did not actually shout "The redcoats are coming!!!!!"
Other than that, there aren't many historical references in Longfellow's poems, but since the most significant events he lived through, in my opinion, are the ones that led up to and take place during the Civil War, I'll talk about those.
The Union was being torn apart. In the North were the free states. In the South were the slave states. The slave states depended on slavery to fuel their economy, while abolitionists in the North hated it. If you were a slave, you had three options: death, submission, or escape. Some used forged papers to escape. Others hid in swamps and rivers. And massacres in Kansas, the Fugitive Slave Act, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, etc. were only events leading up to the Civil War. The powder keg was yet to explode. Longfellow was an abolitionist who hated slavery.
Unfortunately, Lincoln's election set off the powder keg. Seven states seceded from the Union. Then, Fort Sumter was attacked. The Civil War had begun.
Other than that, there aren't many historical references in Longfellow's poems, but since the most significant events he lived through, in my opinion, are the ones that led up to and take place during the Civil War, I'll talk about those.
The Union was being torn apart. In the North were the free states. In the South were the slave states. The slave states depended on slavery to fuel their economy, while abolitionists in the North hated it. If you were a slave, you had three options: death, submission, or escape. Some used forged papers to escape. Others hid in swamps and rivers. And massacres in Kansas, the Fugitive Slave Act, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, etc. were only events leading up to the Civil War. The powder keg was yet to explode. Longfellow was an abolitionist who hated slavery.
Unfortunately, Lincoln's election set off the powder keg. Seven states seceded from the Union. Then, Fort Sumter was attacked. The Civil War had begun.