Patriots vs Loyalists?

Question

I have to write a paper about a patriot and a loyalist having a argument about the war. Any good links or ideas?

Thanks guys

Answer 1

Patriots were the colonists who wanted to separate from England to form an independent nation. Some of the issues they were concerned about were 1] paying high taxes to support a government abroad that they had no part in (and the making of laws they had no part in since no colonist served in British Parliament) 2] paying higher taxes than some of the other British colonies to basically finance England's wars with France and other countries 3] (see Benjamin Franklin's essay on this topic] British prisoners sent to populate the colonies to ease prison overcrowding in England. 4] British control of American shipping/exporting -- ie: telling the colonies what countries they could and could not trade with 5] the requirement that colonists, whenever asked (more like "told") had to billet British troops who were in the colonies to keep the peace -- this means that with no notice, troops could arrive at a colonist's farm and demand food and shelter for an indefinite period. . . sometimes even taking over the homestead as a headquarters without repaying the owner.

Women Patriots, though not likely to take up arms showed their support of an independent and free America by boycotting British goods and imports. They quit wearing the fashions from London and wore "homespun" -- dresses hand-made from fabrics like wool and cotton made in the colonies. Some families refused to buy tea. . . others boycotted sugar from British West Indies.

Loyalists were those colonists who wanted to remain loyal to Britian and the King. A primary concern was that cutting ties to the "mother country" could result in a disintegration of decent society. They feared that "democracy" meant the same thing as rule by the mob and that many people (like immigrants from countries they didn't much care for or like poor and/or uneducated people) were not fit to make political decisions (or even to vote). Loyalists were also concerned that without England's protection, the colonies might not be able to militarily defend themselves and some other nation might invade and take them over.

There is probably basic information in your high school American history textbook OR in the early American section of an American literature book (people wrote about what they lived). When researching online, the best sources of information are often .gov, .edu, and .org sites. You might try reading some of these essays of Patriots and Loyalists at:
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall96/sons.html
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2006_summer_fall/women-revolution2.html
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1726-1750/franklin/paper.htm
http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/fall96/loyalists.html

To get a "big picture" idea of the time period and some of the character's concerns, my children enjoyed watching "The Patriot" [Mel Gibson is a loyalist who is against the Revolution -- then life events turn him to the Patriot's side]. However, use this information for ideas only. . . it's not 100% factual, though it is based on historical data. . . and, using movie dialogue would constitute plagiarism.

Hope this information, links to articles/essays, and tips prove helpful to you.

Ravyn
(former college American history instructor)

Answer 2

Loyalists Vs Patriots

Answer 3

Patriots Vs Loyalists

Answer 4

RE:
Patriots vs Loyalists?
I have to write a paper about a patriot and a loyalist having a argument about the war. Any good links or ideas?

Answer 5

Here is a link to the differences between Patriots and Loyalists.
http://vmead.tripod.com/beliefs.htm
Basically, Loyalists want to support King George III as ruler. The Patriots believe the monanchy is an unjust system.

Answer 6

The following link provides resources your teacher would most likely approve of. The link is from the Holt publishing company. It's long, sorry. Follow it exactly and you'll find the type of sources you're looking for. Also, Sam Adams and Patrick Henry gave great speechs. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" pamphlet can be found using a general search. For loyalist you may wish to search King George, William Howe, or Thomas Fletchall.


go.hrw.com/hrw.nd/arbiter/pRedirect?project=hrwonline&siteId=177&pageId=378

Answer 7

patriots loyalists

Answer 8

Mike B - it looks like you have your wars confused.....

I would just start by making two lists and examining various topics concerning the war. List the views on each topic for both sides and then construct a conversation around it.

The following website has a debate between loyalists and colonists. PLEASE do not copy anything straight from the site though - just use it as a starting point for your assignment and get some ideas from it.

http://www.angelfire.com/pa/teamushistory/pdf/patriots_loyalists.pdf

Answer 9

the patriots supported the colonies' independence from the UK. The loyalists remained loyal to the British crown

Answer 10

while reading a book, you're stimulating the human brain. You better your literacy and reading skills and also you in the process, become more literate. Despite having today's modern tools, you still need to be able to read.
While you're watching t.v. can be good fun, it is not doing anything to your brain.