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Loyalists: Beliefs and Origins (Resource #1)

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Loyalists: Beliefs and Origins (Resource #1)

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Loyalists During the American Revolutionary War: What Happened to Them?

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The Loyalists in the Revolutionary War supported the British Crown, putting them on the losing side. Learn about why they chose to continue their allegiance to King George and about what happened to them after the war was over with this study guide.

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Loyalists versus Patriots Video (Source #2)

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Loyalists versus Patriots Video (Source #2)

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What Motivated the Loyalists? (Source #3)

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What Motivated the Loyalists? (Source #3)

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Americans today think of the War for Independence as a revolution, but in important respects it was also a civil war. American Loyalists, or "Tories" as their opponents called them, opposed the Revolution, and many took up arms against the rebels. Estimates of the number of Loyalists range as high as 500,000, or 20 percent of the white population of the colonies.

What motivated the Loyalists? Most educated Americans, whether Loyalist or Revolutionary, accepted John Locke's theory of natural rights and limited government. Thus, the Loyalists, like the rebels, criticized such British actions as the Stamp Act and the Coercive Acts. Loyalists wanted to pursue peaceful forms of protest because they believed that violence would give rise to mob rule or tyranny. They also believed that independence would mean the loss of economic benefits derived from membership in the British mercantile system.

Loyalists came from all walks of life. The majority were small farmers, artisans and shopkeepers. Not surprisingly, most British officials remained loyal to the Crown. Wealthy merchants tended to remain loyal, as did Anglican ministers, especially in Puritan New England. Loyalists also included some blacks (to whom the British promised freedom), Indians, indentured servants and some German immigrants, who supported the Crown mainly because George III was of German origin.

The number of Loyalists in each colony varied. Recent estimates suggest that half the population of New York was Loyalist; it had an aristocratic culture and was occupied throughout the Revolution by the British. In the Carolinas, back-country farmers were Loyalist, whereas the Tidewater planters tended to support the Revolution.

During the Revolution, most Loyalists suffered little from their views. However, a minority, about 19,000 Loyalists, armed and supplied by the British, fought in the conflict.

The Paris Peace Treaty required Congress to restore property confiscated from Loyalists. The heirs of William Penn in Pennsylvania, for example, and those of George Calvert in Maryland received generous settlements. In the Carolinas, where enmity between rebels and Loyalists was especially strong, few of the latter regained their property. In New York and the Carolinas, the confiscations from Loyalists resulted in something of a social revolution as large estates were parceled out to yeoman farmers.

About 100,000 Loyalists left the country, including William Franklin, the son of Benjamin, and John Singleton Copley, the greatest American painter of the period. Most settled in Canada. Some eventually returned, although several state governments excluded the Loyalists from holding public office. In the decades after the Revolution, Americans preferred to forget about the Loyalists. Apart from Copley, the Loyalists became nonpersons in American history.

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Loyalists During the American Revolution < The road to Independence < History 1994 < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and beyond

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Americans today think of the War for Independence as a
revolution, but in important respects it was also a civil war.
American Loyalists, or “Tories” as their opponents called them,
opposed the Revolution, and many took up arms against the rebels.
Estimates of the number of Loyalists range as high a…

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Learn about Patriots and Loyalists during the Revolutionary War. One side wanted independence while the other wanted to remain part of Britain.