Much of what most of us think of as the American Revolution or the Revolutionary War was actually a war of colonial independence by varying groups of residents in Britain's thirteen American colonies against Great Britain itself and its parliamentary government headed by a monarch. In the colonies, for a time it turned into a civil war between Americans in favor of independence and those opposed. Significant events involved African-Americans held in bondage (especially in the South) and equally significant events involved indigenous Native Americans. America’s War of Independence from Britain occurred more or less simultaneously against the backdrop of a world war between imperial Britain and its allies against imperial France and its allies. But was there a revolution? Yes, there most certainly was -- in 1774 in Massachusetts starting right here in the Berkshires. This course will examine that year of genuine revolution in Massachusetts and how it led to and shaped the outbreak of war with Britain the following year. A second course in 2026 will examine key aspects of that war, its many myths, and what happened to the Massachusetts revolution after the end of the war. The present course will also examine why the Berkshire instigated revolution has been forgotten.

Stacy Wallach has been an OLLI instructor, mostly focused on American history, since 2007. Stacy is a graduate of the Mount Hermon School, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His instructional mode is visual -- lots of PowerPoint photos, maps, and charts.

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