U.S. History IThe American Revolution (1754 to 1783)D2.His.4.9-12

Patriots, Loyalists and Neutrals

Colonists divided: Patriots backed independence, Loyalists stayed loyal to Britain, many stayed neutral; Dunmore's Proclamation (1775) offered freedom to enslaved people who joined the British, and most Native nations sided with Britain.

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The Declaration spoke for "one people," but the colonists were deeply divided. The Revolution was also a civil war, fought between neighbors and within families.

Key idea

Patriots backed independence; Loyalists stayed loyal to Britain; many people tried to stay neutral. Historians estimate that roughly 15 to 20 percent of white colonists were Loyalists. Dunmore's Proclamation (1775) offered freedom to enslaved people of rebel owners who joined the British, and most Native nations sided with Britain.

Why it works

People chose sides for many reasons: principle, but also where they lived, what they owned, whom they trusted and who seemed likely to protect them. Royal officials, Anglican clergy and some merchants with ties to Britain often stayed loyal. Some backcountry farmers resented the coastal elites who led the Patriots. For enslaved people and Native nations, the question was which side offered the better chance of freedom or of keeping their land.
Read the key sentence of the proclamation closely.

Worked example: Who answered Dunmore?

What happened after Dunmore's Proclamation of November 7, 1775?
  1. Hundreds of enslaved people escaped to the British lines in Virginia; some formed the "Ethiopian Regiment."
  2. Many died of smallpox in the camps.
  3. In 1779 the British commander Henry Clinton made a wider offer (the Philipsburg Proclamation).
  4. Patriot slaveholders were alarmed, and some colonists who had been unsure turned against Britain.

Answer: Thousands of enslaved people sought freedom with the British during the war; the offer also hardened Patriot feeling.

Worked example: Native nations choose

Why did most Native nations side with Britain?
  1. Britain's Proclamation of 1763 had tried to keep settlers east of the mountains.
  2. Patriot settlers were the ones pressing onto Native land.
  3. The Haudenosaunee split: the Mohawk leader Joseph Brant led warriors for Britain, while the Oneida and Tuscarora mostly aided the Patriots.

Answer: Britain looked like the better protector of their lands; but nations, and even the Haudenosaunee, divided.

Which side did each support?

About 5,000 Black men served on the Patriot side, many from New England. After the war, some 60,000 to 80,000 Loyalists left the United States, many for Canada; the British also evacuated thousands of Black Loyalists, some to Nova Scotia.

Common mistake

The common picture is of a whole people rising together. In fact only part of the population actively backed independence; perhaps a fifth or less were Loyalists, and many others tried to stay out of the war. The numbers also changed over the war as armies came and went.

Practice

Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 2 XP.

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