A Cultural Perspective Regarding Loyalism Part I: Some Theoretical Reflections
Studying Loyalism unfolds an alternative understanding of the American Revolution. In the traditional standard narrative of the American Revolution, most attention has been given to the revolutionary side; however, the intense focus on the revolutionary side neglects the fact that most people were not militant enough to be revolutionaries. In eighteenth century North American colonies, most people cared more about how to maintain their daily life than about the abstract theory of rights. Even among those who cared about politics, the numbers of Loyalists and Patriots were close. As John Adams recalled in 1813, “N. York and Pensilvania were so nearly divided, if their propensity was not against it, that if New England on one Side and Virginia on the other had not kept them in Awe, they would have joined the British.” Adams also quoted John Marshall saying that the southern states were also nearly equally divided. He then pointed out that, “Look into the Journals of Congress and you will