Breen Spreads Rumors in Worcester, 3 June

On Thursday, 3 June, the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester will host a free public lecture by T. H. Breen, one of the country’s leading historians of the Revolutionary period, on “A Rumor that Almost Sparked a Revolution in 1774.” The event description says:

This presentation explores the complex relation between the members of the First Continental Congress and the insurgents of New England. It argues that at a key moment almost two years before the Declaration of Independence the people were prepared to resist Great Britain, with arms if necessary.

(Psst. That rumor was the Powder Alarm. Breen discusses it in his new book American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People. Pass it on.)

Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of History at Northwestern. His previous books include Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution and Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence.

This lecture takes place in the A.A.S.’s main building at 185 Salisbury Street, starting at 7:30 P.M.