Colonists who opposed British rule during the American Revolution
Patriots
, also known as
Revolutionaries
,
Continentals
,
Rebels
, or
Whigs
, were colonists in the
Thirteen Colonies
who opposed the
Kingdom of Great Britain
's control and governance during the
colonial era
, and supported and helped launch the
American Revolution
that ultimately established American independence. Patriot politicians led colonial opposition to British policies regarding the American colonies, eventually building support for the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence
, which was adopted unanimously by the
Second Continental Congress
on July 4, 1776. After the
American Revolutionary War
began the year before, in 1775, many patriots assimilated into the
Continental Army
, which was commanded by
George Washington
and which secured victory against the
British
, leading the
British
to acknowledge the sovereign independence of the colonies, reflected in the
Treaty of Paris
, which led to the establishment of the
United States
in 1783.
The patriots were inspired by
English
and
American republican
ideology that was part of the
Age of Enlightenment
, and rejected
monarchy
and
aristocracy
and supported individual
liberty
and
natural rights and legal rights
. Prominent patriot political theorists such as
Thomas Jefferson
,
John Adams
and
Thomas Paine
spearheaded the
American Enlightenment
, which was in turn inspired by European thinkers such as
Francis Bacon
,
John Locke
, and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
. Though slavery existed
in all of the Thirteen Colonies
prior to the American Revolution, the issue divided patriots, with some supporting
its abolition
while others espoused
proslavery thought
.
The patriots included members of every social and ethnic group in the colonies, though support for the patriot cause was strongest in the
New England Colonies
and weakest in the
Southern Colonies
. The American Revolution divided the colonial population into three groups: patriots, who supported the end of British rule,
loyalists
, who supported Britain's continued control over the colonies, and those who remained neutral.
African Americans
who supported the patriots were known as
Black Patriots
, with their counterparts on the British side being referred to as
Black Loyalists
.
Terminology
Whigs or patriots
The critics of British policy towards the
Thirteen Colonies
called themselves "Whigs" after 1768, identifying with members of the British
Whig
party who favored similar colonial policies.
[
citation needed
]
Samuel Johnson
writes that at the time, the word "patriot" had a negative connotation and was used as a negative epithet for "a factious disturber of the government".
[1]
"Tories" or "Royalists"
Prior to the Revolution, colonists who supported British authority called themselves
Tories
or
royalists
, identifying with the political philosophy of
traditionalist conservatism
as it existed in Great Britain. During the
American Revolution
, these persons became known primarily as
Loyalists
. Afterward, some 15% of Loyalists emigrated north to the remaining British territories in
the Canadas
. There they called themselves the
United Empire Loyalists
. 85% of the Loyalists decided to stay in the new United States and were granted American citizenship.
Composition
Prior to the formal beginning of the
American Revolution
, many patriots were active in groups, including the
Sons of Liberty
. The most prominent patriot leaders are referred to today as the
Founding Fathers
, who are generally defined as the 56 men who, as delegates to the
Second Continental Congress
in
Philadelphia
signed the
Declaration of Independence
.
Patriots included a cross-section of the population of the
Thirteen Colonies
and came from varying backgrounds. Roughly 40 to 45 percent of the White population in the
Thirteen Colonies
supported the patriots' cause, between 15 and 20 percent supported the
Loyalists
, and the remainder were neutral or kept a low profile regarding their loyalties.
[2]
The great majority of Loyalists remained in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution; a minority, however, fled the nation for
Canada
,
Great Britain
,
Florida
, or the
West Indies
.
[3]
Motivations
Patriot and loyalist differences
Historians have explored the motivations that pulled men to one side or the other.
[4]
Yale historian
Leonard Woods Labaree
used the published and unpublished writings and letters of leading men on each side, searching for how personality shaped their choice. He finds eight characteristics that differentiated the two groups. Loyalists were older, better established, and more likely to resist innovation than the patriots. Loyalists felt that the Crown was the legitimate government and resistance to it was morally wrong, while the patriots felt that morality was on their side because the British government had violated the constitutional rights of Englishmen. Men who were alienated by physical attacks on Royal officials took the Loyalist position, while those who were offended by British responses to actions such as the
Boston Tea Party
became patriots. Merchants in the port cities with long-standing financial attachments to Britain were likely to remain loyal, while few patriots were so deeply enmeshed in the system. Some Loyalists, according to Labaree, were "procrastinators" who believed that independence was bound to come some day, but wanted to "postpone the moment", while the patriots wanted to "seize the moment". Loyalists were cautious and afraid of anarchy or tyranny that might come from mob rule; patriots made a systematic effort to take a stand against the British government. Finally, Labaree argues that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the patriots' confidence that independence lay ahead.
[5]
[6]
Patriots and taxes
The patriots rejected taxes imposed by legislatures in which the taxpayer was not represented. "
No taxation without representation
" was their slogan, referring to the lack of representation in the British Parliament. The British countered that there was "virtual representation" in the sense that all members of Parliament represented the interests of all the citizens of the British Empire. Some patriots declared that they were loyal to the king, but they insisted that they should be free to run their own affairs. In fact, they had been running their own affairs since the period of "
salutary neglect
" before the
French and Indian War
. Some radical patriots tarred and feathered tax collectors and customs officers, making those positions dangerous; according to Benjamin Irvin, the practice was especially prevalent in Boston where many patriots lived.
[7]
List of prominent patriots
References
- ^
"patriot, n. and adj"
.
OED Online
. Oxford University Press
. Retrieved
July 6,
2021
.
- ^
Robert M. Calhoon, "Loyalism and neutrality" in
Jack P. Greene;
J. R. Pole
(2008).
A Companion to the American Revolution
. John Wiley & Sons. p. 235.
ISBN
9780470756447
.
- ^
Thomas B. Allen,
Tories: Fighting for the King in America's First Civil War
(2011) p. xviii
- ^
On patriots see Edwin G. Burrows and Michael Wallace, "The American Revolution: The Ideology and Psychology of National Liberation," Perspectives in American History, (1972) vol. 6 pp. 167?306
- ^
Leonard Woods Labaree,
Conservatism in Early American History
(1948) pp. 164?65
- ^
See also N. E. H. Hull, Peter C. Hoffer and Steven L. Allen, "Choosing Sides: A Quantitative Study of the Personality Determinants of Loyalist and Revolutionary Political Affiliation in New York,"
Journal of American History,
65#2 (1978), pp. 344?66
in JSTOR
- ^
Benjamin H. Irvin, "Tar and Feathers in Revolutionary America," (2003)
Archived
2010-06-18 at the
Wayback Machine
Bibliography
- Ellis, Joseph
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
(2002), Pulitzer Prize
- Kann, Mark E.;
The Gendering of American Politics: Founding Mothers, Founding Fathers, and Political Patriarchy
, (1999)
online version
- Middlekauff, Robert
;
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763?1789
(2005)
online version
- Miller, John C.
Origins of the American Revolution.
(1943)
online version
- Miller, John C.
Triumph of Freedom, 1775?1783
(1948)
online version
- Previdi, Robert; "Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America",
Presidential Studies Quarterly,
Vol. 29, 1999.
- Rakove, Jack
.
Revolutionaries: A New History of the Invention of America
(2010)
excerpt and text search
- Raphael, Ray.
A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence
(2002).
- Roberts, Cokie
.
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
(2005).