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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
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
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
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.
Van Hofwegen 3
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
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
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
Van Hofwegen 4
Loyalists”). The offer of freedom was an enormous opportunity of the slaves to escape from the
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
Works Cited
(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 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,
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