Loyalists, Patriots, and Neutralists

Throughout the American Revolution, the colonists divided into three separate groups based on where their beliefs stood with the British. There were the Patriots, the Loyalists, and the Neutralists. In History classes today, the Patriot side of the Revolution is more prominent. The Patriots fought for independence from the British. They wanted independence because they believed the recent laws imposed by the British on the American Colonies violated their rights as British citizens. Examples of this were taxing without consent, quartering soldiers in citizens’ homes, and denying a right to trial. Most of the Patriots lived in the New England Colonies, specifically Massachusetts, and were loosely associated with Presbyterianism. The Patriots highly mistrusted the Loyalists, which caused difficulties throughout the Colonies.

The Loyalists were made up of colonists who were loyal to King George III. Some Loyalists chose not to fight against the British because they were either wealthy, or believed that the British were justified in their actions towards the Colonies. Even if they agreed that the colonists suffered from the British, they still wished for a peaceful settlement with the British government in the end. It was dangerous to be a Loyalist, many of them were attacked and killed by the Patriots. They were sometimes whipped, abused, arrested, had their property destroyed or confiscated, and even tarred and feathered by Patriot rebels. Originally, Loyalists were passive and relied on the British for their protection. However, after they were mistreated by the Patriots, about half of the Loyalists became active. Loyalists tended to be wealthy landowners, American clergymen, or people with close business and political ties to Britain. In addition, they were mostly better-educated in comparison to the Patriots. Loyalists populated New York City as well as the Southern Colonies and were loosely associated with Anglicanism. Around one-third of the colonists made up the Loyalists.

The last group, Neutralists, were simply the people who didn’t want to fight, lived too far away to be able to fight, or believed in the principles of both the Loyalists and the Patriots.

-Written By: Chloe Jamerson