The town of Lenox was established in 1767, three years after the first Committee of Correspondence was convened in Boston, at the instigation of Samuel Adams, namesake of two Berkshires towns, and cousin of Abigail’s husband, John. The committees became the first step in the establishment of American liberty.
By establishing channels of communication throughout the colonies, our founding generation coordinated resistance to British rule, which became intolerable when parliament enacted the Townshend Acts in the aftermath of the ill-named French and Indian War. Ironically, those acts represent England’s reaction to a sneak attack by the French, in 1756, on British fortifications on Lake Ontario – France’s most glorious moment in the Seven Year’s War that ultimately cost them their dominion over Canada!
The first ammunition used by America’s founders in opposition to the British, was the English language. They used it to unite the far-flung colonists and organize resistance to their common foe. That the pen is mightier than the sword was proved by the motley crew of farmers, mechanics, merchants, and preachers who kept each other informed of their various grievances. Except for the Boston Tea Party, which looks like a clumsy attempt to frame Britain’s allies, by impersonating Mohawk warriors, opposition was open and notorious.
