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Kari Van Hofwegen

Professor Thomson

HIST 151

28 July 2018

Loyalists: Post-Revolution

Before the American Revolution began, there was a group of people that emerged from

the colonists called loyalists. Since many colonists were becoming tired of Britain controlling

everything without having any representation, there were murmurings among the colonists to

separate themselves from Britain and gain their own independence. These people were formally

known as the patriots. However, the loyalists were a group of people who still were dedicated to

Britain and were opposed to gaining independence. Many of the loyalists were comfortable with

the scenario they were in; they were living in peace under the rule of one of the strongest

countries in the world.

However, being a loyalist was not easy during the American Revolution (or afterwards).

The patriots were determined to gain their independence no matter what measures they had to

use to achieve it. Many of the loyalists switched their loyalties elsewhere simply to avoid the

torture that the patriots giving the loyalists. One book repots, “The soldiers brought a long rope

which they tied, about the middle, around the shoemaker’s waist, and see-sawed him backward

and forward in the stream until they had nearly drowned him,” (Jie-qiong 1). The same book

reports that, “the officer finally ordered him to be tarred and feathered,” (Jie-qiong 2). Yet, about

one-third of the colonists remained loyalists through the American Revolution even though the

threat of torture and thievery loomed over them.


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Despite the various struggles that the loyalists had during the American Revolution, they

also suffered difficulties after the war. The loyalists were highly dedicated to Britain and

completely against the colonists being independent. Yet, now they were living in a land free

from Britain and under the rule of the patriots: their worst enemy. It was difficult for the patriots

and the loyalists to reach an agreement with each other after the war was over. The loyalists no

longer wanted to be persecuted for the dedication to Britain but the patriots were not accepting of

loyalties to other countries. The loyalists were genuinely, “concerned about what kinds of

protections they might have in the new United States” (“What Happened To British Loyalists

After The Revolutionary War?”). Also, many of the loyalists were not excited to live in a land

they did not support.

In some states, such as New York, the loyalists did not retreat from the land easily. Many

of the loyalists believed that they still had the right to farm the land they were already on even

though the state of New York desperately wanted the loyalists gone. Zeichner states in his book,

“The efforts to drive the loyalists from the state and prevent their return were by no means

completely successful” (293). In fact, the governors even wanted, “to transmit to the governors of

the others states a list of banished New York loyalists…” (Zeichner 293). Another location in the

United States that was having difficulty with the loyalists was the South. An article states that,

“gangs of revolutionaries, gangs of loyalists, would attack each other, go to each other’s

plantations. In fact, some of the big battles in the South happened after the surrender at

Yorktown” (“What Happened To British Loyalists After The Revolutionary War?”). Even though

there was fighting continuing in particular areas of the United States, there was also a portion of

people who moved to either Canada or Britain at the end of the war.
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A majority of the loyalists moved to Canada, which was a closer option than Britain to

move to once the American Revolution was over. There were British colonies in Canada, such as

Nova Scotia, that numerous loyalists fled to. An article states that, “About half of the loyalists

who left the United States ended up going north to Canada, settling in the province of Nova

Scotia and also becoming pioneering settlers in the province of New Brunswick” (“What

Happened To British Loyalists After The Revolutionary War?”).

However, there were loyalists who moved back to Britain, such as Thomas Hutchinson.

Thomas Hutchinson was a loyalist who was governor in the colonies and extremely vocal about

his dedication to Britain. Due to the American Revolution, Hutchison was forced out by another

non-loyalist who was then appointed governor. Stuck and not knowing where to go, Hutchinson

returned home to Britain to live the remainder of his life. Most of the loyalists who returned to

Britain had the resources, like Thomas Hutchison, to make the big journey home. Britain also

promised some of these people money for all the things that were taken from them by the

patriots. Nevertheless, not very many people were able to afford the journey back in the first

place and thus chose to flee to Canada instead.

Lastly, there was a group of African-American loyalists who post-American Revolution

had to decide on where to move to. During the American Revolution, the British were desperate

to gain followers, which led them to contact the African-American slaves. An online article

states that, “The British promised to liberate slaves who fled from their Patriot masters” (“The

Loyalists”). This is a promise that the British were able to follow up on, helping the African-

American slaves immensely. According to the article, “When the war ended, the British

evacuated 20,000 formerly enslaved African Americans and resettled them as free people” (“The
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Loyalists”). The offer of freedom was an enormous opportunity of the slaves to escape from the

patriots after the American Revolution.

Overall, the loyalists were forced to flee out of the United States after the American

Revolution. The loyalists no longer had a purpose in the United States like the patriots did. The

patriots were now able to expand their land and make their own laws which did not take into

consideration what the loyalists wanted. Many years of harassment by the patriots also led the

loyalists to want to get out of the United States as soon as possible. The colonists were successful

in settling the United States, but it was now time for the responsibilities of the colonies to be

passed on to someone else.


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Works Cited

Jie-qiong, S. U. N. "The Loyalists in the American Revolution." Journal of Historical Science 3

(2008): 016.

This article was written to explain who the Loyalists were during the American Revolution. The

Loyalists were a huge part of the American Revolution, yet they were a poorly treated

group of people. The article goes over the harsh ways in which the Loyalists were treated.

“The Loyalists” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/us/13c.asp.

The article called “The Loyalists” was written about a group of people during the American

Revolution who were loyal to Great Britain. After the American Revolution was over,

many of the Loyalists left the colonies and found a different home. The article discusses

this briefly.

“What Happened To British Loyalists After The Revolutionary War?” NPR, NPR,3 July 2015,

www.npr.org/2015/07/03/419824333/what-happened-to-british-loyalists-after-the-

revolutionary-war.

This article was written to explain what exactly happened to the British Loyalists after the

Revolutionary War. The Loyalists no longer felt welcome in the colonies since they were

no longer controlled by Britain so many of them left and found another place to live.

Zeichner, Oscar. “The Loyalists Problem in New York After the Revolution.” New York History,

vol. 21, no. 3, 1940, pp. 284—302. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23135069.

After the Revolutionary War, there was tension between the Loyalists and the Patriots since the

Patriots had won the war. Therefore, there was often conflict that happened which caused

some problems after the war was over. This article discusses the different areas that the

Loyalists caused problems for America after the Revolution.


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