Robert J. Allison chairs Suffolk University's History Department, and also teaches at the Harvard Extension School. His works include: "Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies," The Teaching Company. Great Courses (2009), And free, on-line courses: The U.S. Constitution: A Biography (http: //www.udemy.com/us-constitution/). History of Boston (live in October 2014): (http: //www.historyofboston.org) He is president of the South Boston Historical Society, vice president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.