American_Revolution

American Revolution Growing up, we are taught that the Revolutionary war was a necessary war with unmistakable objectives and was fervently fought by all Americans in an effort to rise up against the tyranny of British rule. We are taught to view the war as a Revolution, a fight for freedom, liberty and the right to own property, a fight that would, in the end, be beneficial to every American. In reality, the American Revolution was not supported or condoned by all American colonists, as we are sometimes led to believe. Although, there are no accurate numbers of how many American colonists remained “loyal“ to the British during the American Revolution, it is indisputable that support for the war was far from universal. John Adams is quoted as saying that a “full one third were adverse to the Revolution … an opposite one third conceived a hatred of the English … the middle one third … were rather luke-warm.” (Adams, 110) Due to these opposing forces within the colonies, the American “Revolution” could be more accurately described as a civil war, pitting neighbor against neighbor in a brutal struggle to define the economy and politics of new nation. Even after the war, it took years to settle the old hatreds and to have once again a newly independent nation united. All throughout the late 17th and 18th centuries, people flocked to “the new world” for a variety of reasons. Some to escape religious persecution, some to flee an oppressive government, but most had hopes of owning their own land and becoming wealthy farmers or merchants. Regardless of the individual reasons for the journey, it was generally accepted that America was “a land of opportunity”. As relations with Britain were beginning to falter towards the end of the 18th century, largely due to heavy taxation and imposing new governments, the country began to split. Though the Tories and Whigs within America wanted collectively wanted reconciliation, they could not agree on a solution. Tories wanted to end resistance before violence spread, while Whigs believed they should flex their muscles and intimidate England. In the failure to reach a bipartisan solution the split within the country increased. A few loud, rebel-rousing colonists to begin to rally support for rebellion by holding pro-war rallies and publishing pro-war pamphlets, such as Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine, which he states, “As a long and violent abuse of power, is generally the Means of calling the right of it in question … and as the King of England hath undertaken in his own Right, to support the Parliament in what he calls Theirs, and as the good people of this country are grievously oppressed by the combination, they have an undoubted privilege to inquire into the pretensions of both, and equally to reject the usurpation of either.”(Paine, 2) Loyalists viewed “Common Sense” as meaningless propaganda. These were people who were content with their simple lives, people whose religion preached pacifism, those who did not want to see their homes, families and lands ravaged by war, and those who felt that the colonial armies where not strong enough to defeat the British and did not want there land and possessions confiscated. There are countless stories told of fathers who would have one son in one army and another in the opposing camp in an effort to play both sides and keep his property no matter what the outcome of the war. (Raphael, 149) A wealthy planter from Maryland by the name of James Chalmers responded to Paine’s pamphlet by writing “The Plain Truth”. In it, he states “With all its imperfections [The English Constitution] is, and ever will be, the pride and envy of mankind.” (Chalmers, 2) Unfortunately for the loyalist cause, Chalmers writing was too wordy to enlist any more support from the common man. Those who were educated enough to comprehend “The Plain Truth” were in general, already backing the loyalist cause. When the war began between America and England, colonists were forced to choose sides. They fought along side the “rebels”, or “patriots”, against England, or were labeled “loyalists”, or more offensively, “Tories”. Contemporary rebels seldom described loyalists with a positive light. The Tories were said to be disaffected to the American cause. The disaffection included anyone who failed to support the Revolution, both physically or financially, even those who tried to stay neutral. The given definition of a “loyalist” is “a person who professed a continuing allegiance to the King of Great Britain.” (Raphael, 145) However, this classification is both too vague and, at the same time, too restricting. It included those who accepted British authority, even though they were not willing to fight for it, as James Allen reported from Philadelphia, “Many people who disapprove Independence have no other wish than to remain at peace, & secure in their persons without influencing the minds of others.” (Allen, 3) This loyalist definition also excluded a good number of those who may have been labeled a loyalist for more self-serving reasons without strong feelings for the British or the King one way or another. A common stereotype was that all Tories where flag-waving British supporters. In actuality, most peoples’ views on the revolution where fueled by self-interest and survival. Loyalists came from different backgrounds, both economically and ethnically. Small farmers often chose not to take up arms with the rebels in fear of persecution from Britain and the lose of their land should the rebels lose the war. Some slaves became loyalists with the promise of freedom when the fighting was over. Maritime workers didn’t want a disruption in trade. Fur traders did not want to compete for land with expanding farms. There were some whose religious beliefs prevented them from fighting or being violent in any way. There are no accurate numbers of how many American colonists remained “loyal“ to the British during the American Revolution. Paul Smith estimated that about 19,000 men actually fought with the British against the rebels and about 20 percent of white Americans could be classified as loyalists. (Smith, 269) On the battlefield, it was the fighting between the loyalist Tories and the continental rebel armies that were the most hostile. It was the rebel militias that actually eliminated a great deal of the loyalist support throughout the war. Soon after the revolution began, some states began to require that citizens sign an oath of allegiance to the revolutionary cause, those who didn’t were fined, and in the worst cases, put to death. As British forces began to take control of American cities, such as Boston and New York, thousands of refugees fled for fear of armful confrontation and military rule. Those who remained were considered to be loyalists. And at the end of the war, they would see their land and possessions confiscated as a penalty. In fact, much of America’s victory can be contributed to the rebel control over the loyalists. America’s victory in the Revolutionary War was merely the logical culmination of the protests against British rule. Throughout the war, the patriots looted the Tories, raided their strongholds, and confiscated their lands, homes and businesses under the treason acts. The Loyalists returned the treatment whenever possible, and paid them back with interest, and passed information to the British about the rebels. The weakening of the loyalist support proved to be a major downfall for the British armies. England had expected loyalists within the colonies to help supply the British troops. Consequently, as rebel militias fought hard to drive loyalists out of the colonies, the growth of a strong loyalist party had been successfully prevented. By 1782, most loyalists have been driven out of rebel colonies and behind British lines. This elimination of colonist support proved to be a major collapse for the English, Britain, lacking loyalist support in the colonies, political and financial support in Britain, and additional military support from European allies, was forced to rely on weak supply lines and a diminishing army in order to survive. By using such tactics to weaken the British army and navy, the rebels were able to utilize their military advantages to curb and eventually subdue British troops. Although the Britain had the largest and most powerful army, they had trouble getting enough British soldiers to the United States, whereas the American rebels made a hugely successful effort to enlist soldiers, enlisting far more soldiers than Britain. Initially, the continental army lacked the training and order exhibited by British troops, but with the leadership of a few pivotal men, the American troops came to hone their combat skills. In addition to the Americans fighting in the continental army, France and Spain sent troops to fight against the British. With this surplus of manpower, the American forces were able to even further stretch British supply lines, and when Britain was most vulnerable, the Americans seized the opportunity to corner and conquer the British troops. At the end of the war, those deemed loyalists faced a bleak, uncertain future. Although it was specifically stated in the Treaty of Paris that everyone should “adopt a spirit of reconciliation which, on the return of blessings of peace should universally prevail … all persons shall have the freedom to obtain the restitution of such of their estates, rights and properties as may have been confiscated … There should be no further confiscations made, nor any prosecutions commenced against and person for which he may have taken in the present war and no person should suffer any future loss or damage to his person, liberty or property” (Tuchman, 148) this was not the case. Despite the fact that it was written and signed by Congress, there was no way of enforcing these laws at the state level. Many of those who were labeled as loyalists were forced to travel back to England or up to English-held Canada for refuge. In retrospect, the American Revolution was not only a war fought to achieve American independence and the opposing sides in the war are not as clear-cut as described by many history books. The American Revolution was, in fact, a war within a country divided that drew lines and questioned an individuals loyalty to their country, their heritage and their families. Bibliography: Works Cited Adams, Charles F. The Works of John Adams. Boston: Charles C Little and James Brown, 1950. Bradley, Patricia. Slavery, Propaganda and the American Revolution. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998. Chalmers, James. “Plain Truth.” James Chalmers and “Plain Truth” – The Early America Review, Fall 1996. October 2000. Countrymen, Edward. A People in Revolution: The American Revolution and Political Society in New York. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1981. Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense.” Quesita – The Online Library. 1997 Raphael, Ray. A People’s History of the American Revolution. New York: The New Press, 2001 Smith, Paul H. “The American Loyalists: Notes on their Organization and Numerical Strength” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 1968. Tuchman, Barbara W. The First Salute. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1988.