The Loyalist exodus also included Ohio Valley farmers who had relied on British military security against Pontiac s armies. Also, from 1779 to 1782, a Loyalist civilian government was re established in coastal Georgia. Create your account, 13 chapters | Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. He fears an independent America could not protect his ships at sea; The remaining state laws against them were repealed after the War of 1812. 4. (b) InThe Alternative of Williams-Burg, a merchant has to sign a nonimportation agreement or risk being covered with the tar and feathers suspended behind him. While some found it easy, others struggled to choose. For example, if a person were to not have a job due to . But what topics of reconciliation are now left for men who think as I do, to address our countrymen? Well it's practically a life or death decision because it's now time to either choose to be a loyalist or a patriot. The Patriots mirrored this tactic by offering freedom to slaves serving in the Continental Army. Indeed, loyalists would have been aware of the failed 1745 Jacobite rebellion in Scotland and the disastrous results for those that revolted against English rule. When the Loyalist cause was defeated, however, many Loyalists fled to Britain, Canada, Nova Scotia, and other parts of the British Empire. The Constitution of the United States | Articles, Preamble & Amendments, Middle School US History: Help and Review, Middle School US History: Tutoring Solution, Praxis World & U.S. History - Content Knowledge (5941): Practice & Study Guide, History 106: The Civil War and Reconstruction, NY Regents Exam - US History and Government: Test Prep & Practice, High School US History: Homework Help Resource, High School US History: Tutoring Solution, NY Regents Exam - US History and Government: Help and Review, NY Regents Exam - US History and Government: Tutoring Solution, Middle School US History: Homework Help Resource, SAT Subject Test US History: Tutoring Solution, Create an account to start this course today. A historian might use the sentiments from the excerpt provided to support the. 5. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. The Patriots lacked a clear plan for the type of nation they wanted to create after they declared independence. Families were split by the Revolution. Which group would most likely support the argument in the excerpt provided? New York City and Long Island were the British military and political bases of operations in North America from 1776 to 1783 and maintained a large concentration of Loyalists, many of whom were refugees from other states. Loyalists vs. Patriots of the American Revolution: Lesson for Kids, The Declaration of Independence | Text, Signers & Legacy, Cornwallis' Surrender at Yorktown Lesson for Kids: Summary & Facts, Loyalists in the Southern Colonies at the End of the Revolutionary War. When sizable numbers of those elites became Patriots and led the government, some Protestant religious minorities and recently settled farmers decided that they trusted a far-off king more than the local elites, who were more likely to enact policies for the benefit of easterners than those who lived in the west. Back in the Colonial days, there were many reasons people would choose to be loyal to the British government or to be patriotic and attempt to establish a new nation. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. If you were fighting in the war, you were 3,000 miles away from England, causing a lack of communication. Although some Canadians took up arms in support of the Patriots, the majority remained loyal to the King. Interesting Facts About Patriots and Loyalists. The departure of royal officials, rich merchants, and landed gentry destroyed the hierarchical networks that thrived in the colonies. Many Anglicans wanted to remain loyal to the monarch as the head of state and head of the Church of England. Slaves also contributed to the Loyalist cause, swayed by the promise of freedom following the war. Public sentiment in the United States against the loyalists died down significantly after government began under the new U.S. Constitution in 1789. British troops opened fire on colonists, signaling a willingness to use violence. No clear deciding factor predicted who would become a Patriot, a Loyalist, or neither, and generations of historians have tried to find a common pattern without success. POST 2453 While we cannot telegraph everything, for reasons all can understand, we do try in our own way to inform loyal Anons & Patriots. For example, during early 1775 in the South Carolina backcountry, Loyalist recruitment outpaced that of the Patriots. Latest answer posted June 21, 2017 at 5:37:38 AM. Small merchants, business owners, and certain religious groups were likely to follow the Patriot cause. These were the colonists who were ultimately willing to fight for the Loyalist cause, or at least to publicly express their loyalism even when it was not popular. They may not . $= She has a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, with specialization in Secondary Social Studies Education, as well as a Bachelor's in Psychology. In 1775, the last royal governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, issued a proclamation offering male slaves their freedom in return for taking up arms to defend the kings cause. Which of the following would best contextualize the sentiments in the excerpt provided? What hardships did the colonists face during the Revolutionary War? They chose to support the authority of the king rather than the power of the Parliament. Historians estimate that about 40-45% of white men were patriots. Both driving forces had many golden opportunities to win the American Revolutionary War, but the Loyalists . Already a member? After the French and Indian War (1754-1763) in North America, British leaders decided that American colonists should be responsible for paying down the war debts. loyalist, also called Tory, colonist loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution. WriteWork.com, 02 March, 2008. 135 lessons Patriots were also known as American Whigs, Revolutionaries, Congress-Men, and Rebels. In limited areas where the British had a strong military presence, Loyalists remained in power. from Calvin University M.A. The Patriots were called Revolutionaries, Continentals, American Whigs, or Rebels while the Loyalists were referred to as Tories, Loyalists, or the King's Men. Get an answer for 'Would you have been a Patriot or a Loyalist in 1776? Native Americans and enslaved Black Americans tended to support the Loyalists due to the Proclamation Line of 1763 and the promise of freedom for enlisted Black soldiers after the war. Voltaire was right on target when he said that there are truths that are not for all men, nor for all times. Patriotism in the American Revolution | What is a Patriot? Reasons not to join the Patriots Some pictures of Loyalists Conclusion These are some of the reasons to stay loyal to the King and not be a Patriot and move to the USA Here are some reasons not to join the Patriots, they are a new Country with no King or no rules to keep them Those seeking certain positions in government and/or the courts who were not directly affiliated with the British may also have chosen the Patriot side, as the British often only appointed their own allies to positions of power. engraving showing the American treatment of loyalists, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/loyalist, George Washington Mount Vernon - George Washington Digital Encyclopedia - Loyalist, The Canadian Encyclopedia - Loyalists in Canada. So were intellectuals with a strong belief in the Enlightenment. Patriots. Years later Robert E. Lee great deal of force. I say that loyalists are better. Brown, Wallace. Another popular name for Patriot was Whig. The British recruited slaves belonging to Patriot masters and promised freedom to those who served. 6. Important events leading to the American Revolution include: To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. 3. As a child, he went on his business trips with him. 3. In occupied New York City, artisans were under pressure to choose the Loyalist cause to keep working in the city. Today, it's easy for Americans to say they would have been devoted Patriots from the start. To most, it was inconceivable that an untrained ragtag army of colonial farmers could best the military might of the English Crown. Most people believed that eventually the colonies would receive some sort of support in Parliament and they would be able to reduce the ridiculous taxes imposed upon them. Yet a better estimate would put Loyalists at about 20 percent of the population. Explain how economic realities influenced some colonists decisions to choose a side in the American Revolution. _JPQzd9,3F]#,8f^QuMC&JXhn8>9[x->,,rK 2xTf~.haoGj,JbwrJWMj_YWYenu*}|}T-yx,cj%3o@AR+k:}5\-^!V6ey"/_h:)BH? Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Other neutral colonists definitely had an opinion about the war but were too scared to announce it publicly. What would you have done? Loyalist was a term used to describe someone who remained loyal to the British crown and British rule. WriteWork.com. William had always done everything with his dad. Hundreds of slaves escaped to join Dunmore and the British Army. In fact, one member of the Constitutional Convention, William Johnson of Connecticut, had been a loyalist. 5/k^Ki@v|Q:%7G8`+(7p~vw*K% u_ekb,NE Economic concerns influenced the decision of some to stay loyal to Great Britain. 9. Latest answer posted November 05, 2019 at 1:14:04 PM, What allusions can be found in Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech? Colonist F has secretly grown concerned over the recent talk of independence from Britain. An error occurred trying to load this video. In September 1776, loyalists flocked to New York after the British defeated George Washington and took control of Manhattan. Three Peoples One King: Loyalists, Indians, and Slaves in the Revolutionary South, 17751782. from University of Massachusetts-Boston. Adherence to religious freedom was respected to such a degree that religious affiliation with the Anglican Church did not matter to the colonists. The British were also unused to the American land, knowing this, the Patriots used it to their advantage. The same delusions will still prevail, till France and Spain, if not other powers, long jealous of Britains force and fame, will fall upon her, embarrassed with an exhausting civil war, and crush, or at least depress her, then turn their arms on these provinces, which must submit to wear their chains or wade through seas of blood to a dear bought and at best a frequently convulsed and precarious independence., Letter from John Dickinson to Arthur Lee in response to Lexington and Concord, April 29, 1775, Where the money is to come from which will defray this enormous annual expense ofthree millionssterling, and all those other debts, I know not; unless the author ofCommon Sense, or some other ingenious projector, can discover thePhilosophers Stone, by which iron and other base metals may be transmuted into gold. Loyalists were those who remained loyal to British rule, while Patriots supported colonial independence and self-rule within the context of the American Revolutionary War. Of course, many people never took a position. Famous patriots included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and Ethan Allen. The governor of Virginia had promised freedom to any slave who fought for the British. Those men who chose to continue supporting the king, like William Franklin, were called Loyalists, or Tories. The South leaned more towards the Loyalists while the Patriots were stronger in the North. Separating from Britain risks that profitable business. (This was between 3 and 4 percent of the total number of settlers in the colonies, which is estimated at 2,500,0003,000,000 during the Revolutionary period.) "What would you rather be a Loyalist or a Patriot? Certain I am that our commerce and agriculture, the two principal sources of our wealth, will not support such an expense. An alliance was signed with the French to gain economic and military support. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2011. But if you had lived back then, you might have made a different decision. Get the answers you need, now! Not only could it lead to war with the British, a war which the British would almost certainly win, it could also result in domestic political disorder, with bitter divisions potentially breaking out into full-scale civil war. This was a line set by the British after the French and Indian War, marking where colonists could not settle. In the Boston Massacre that night, he became the first African American to die for the American Revolution. Quakers,Mennonites, and other pacifists (people opposed to all war) were neutrals and had their patriotism questioned as a result. For instance, in May 1775, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety stopped the enlistment of slaves in colonial armies. After the Revolution, his father disowned him, saying that if England had won, there wouldn't have been any inheritance for William, anyway. 10. 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