Class News

Timothy Breen ’64 featured on the ’64 Authors Book Club

January 12, 2022

Timothy Breen discussed his 2021 book, The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America, on the second Yale 1964 Authors Book Club. John More facilitated the 90-minute Zoom event and fielded questions from the 60 attendees.

The thesis of the book is that it was ordinary American men and women who made the American Revolution a success. Far from the actions of the Continental Congress and the Continental Army and the generals and politicians, they took the reins of power and preserved a political culture based on the rule of law, creating America’s political identity in the process. They policed their neighbors, sent troops and weapons to support the war, and created local governing bodies. Of particular interest is their relative restraint in handling their Loyalist neighbors. No guillotines. Hundreds of stories were gleaned from historical materials to underline how their self-determination and self-governance made the American Revolution succeed.

The full 90-minute video recording of the Zoom event can be watched below.

Edward Massey, who initiated the concept of the Yale 1964 Authors Book Club and piloted the first event in 2021, announced that a third book club will be held in the summer of 2022.

Watch the Class Events page of our Class Website for details.