The First Clash:

New York City and the Stamp Act Crisis, 1765

While researching the historical background for the fourth Thomas Dordrecht Historical Mystery novel, Exquisite Folly, I realized that the events in question—centering on the 1765 Stamp Act Crisis in New York City—were deeply compelling and dramatic in and of themselves. So I proposed to Thomas Fleming, program chairman of the American Revolution Round Table–New York (of which I’m the secretary-treasurer), that I should present a historical overview of those events. Taking note of the 250^th anniversary of the first serious confrontation of the pre-revolutionary era, Mr. Fleming agreed, and the presentation was first delivered there on June 2, 2015. (A write-up of it in the organization’s newsletter is appended below.)

The presentation is approximately 45 minutes long, and is entirely focused on the actual historical events (e.g., without reference to the fiction). Over three dozen accompanying slides are projected.

The talk details:

·      What was the Stamp Act?

·      Why was it created?

·      How was it received in America?

·      How did Americans plan for its scheduled implementation?

·      Why and how did the protests, begun in Virginia and Massachusetts, and universal throughout the colonies, climax in New York City?

·      What was the upshot of the protests?

·      Could the American Revolution have begun ten years earlier as a result?