American Loyalists during the Revolutionary War

American Loyalists

The American Revolution is considered to be one of the most important events in the history of the American people. In most cases it is considered to be an essential stage in the formation of the American nationality and culture. It was a desire for independence from the British Empire. However, although the ideal was the creation of a new state, not all the forces in the colonies militated for such a breakup with the British Empire. These were the Loyalists which fought against the creation of the United States and against the Revolution.

The American Loyalists, also called Tories, were considered to be representatives of all the walks of life. In most situations, "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" (U.S. Department of State, n.d.). Therefore, it can be said that despite the general opinion that most Loyalists were in fact the representatives of the rich people, in fact they were part of the entire American society.

There is evidence to support this claim taking into account the letters of the time and the primary documents which came to be viewed as historical for the decades to come. In this sense, there are letters from individuals who argue precisely the ideas promoted by the Loyalists. Therefore, one of the first ideas discussed by the opponents of the Revolution is the fact that the independence from the British Empire would imply a lack of central power, therefore chaos. More precisely, the Loyalists or at least the opponents of the Revolution considered "that no political society can subsist unless there be an absolute supreme power lodged somewhere in the society, has been universally held as an uncontrollable maxim in theory by all writers on government (...) as long as government subsists, subjects owe an implicit obedience to the laws of the supreme power, from which there can be no appeal but to Heaven" (Borden and Borden, 1972). Therefore, it can be said that one of the first images of the British Empire was that of a supreme ruler which offers stability and order in the colonies.

Another major aspect of the reasons for which there was a substantial desire for the maintenance of the British rule was a mere economic one. It was a rather well-known fact the idea that the British represented one of the most important trading partners for the colonies (Jenkins, 1997). Should a rebellion occur, a large number of people were simply scared of the repercussions over the economy, and the trading mechanisms. Therefore, the opposition was not necessarily political-based but rather an economic affair.

The opponents of the Loyalists however had a different stand on the way in which the British decided to conduct trade. In this sense, following the Seven Years war in which the British Empire lost an important part of its financial strength, the British Parliament decided to impose certain rules and regulations which would ensure the British sufficient funds. Such taxes included the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act and similar levies which were decided upon by the British Parliament which was not considered to be representative for the actual issues that were taking place in the Colonies. Therefore, for instance, the Stamp Act was justified through "granting and applying (of) certain stamp duties, and other duties, in the British colonies and plantations in America, towards further defraying the expenses of defending, protecting, and securing the same; and for amending such parts of the several acts of parliament relating to the trade and revenues of the said colonies and plantations, as direct the manner of determining and recovering the penalties and forfeitures therein mentioned"(the Stamp Act, 1765).

Taking these legislative manners into consideration, the opponents of the Loyalists considered that the issue of trade as a reason for maintaining the British rule was by no means a viable solution. More precisely, they argued that the lack of representation in the British Parliament should not allow the British to impose taxes they do not agree or vote upon. From this perspective, it can be said that the Loyalists had a rather weak argument especially if statistics are taken into account. In this sense, the British exports to the American colonies were comparable to those to the West Indies or the Jamaica (the New World., n.d.). Therefore, it is rather hard to assess the way in which the American colonies would have been affected, as the Loyalists suggest by the Revolution from the British Empire.