Trevor White
Arriving in Connecticut, 1760-1770
My wife and I had just moved to Connecticut where we were forced to make a decision, to become a loyalist or patriot. The sudden force and demand to choose a side was intimidating. The Americans were very forceful in the attempt to establish patriots, not just in the state of Connecticut but rather where ever they possibly could. By this time I’ve realized that Connecticut was highly populated with patriots, making my decision hard. I could either choose loyalist or patriot, but what was so good about being a patriot? I thought to myself, did they have some kind of opportunities or advantages that loyalist didn’t have? Why was being a patriot so favorable by the Americans in the state of Connecticut? Well, as I began to think of my decision to become a loyalist or patriot; I studied both sides, trying to find pros and cons. Comparing and contrasting loyalists and patriots was no easy task because it could be favorable for both sides. The key theme that I began to see was that it was highly dependent on whether you were on the side of Britain or on the side of America. With this I notice that the loyalists had common ties with British economics and politics, and that the patriots were favored by the Americans because of the mutual feelings for “POWER.” In general, loyalists had strong cultural and economic ties to England.” (Roark P.229) I believe that to be an effective leader during this time, you not only need power, but also the strength and courage that come from the people you’re governing. In other words, don’t run or manage things the way you want too, but rather as how everyone as a “whole” wants to.
During the 1760s and 1770s, the years leading up to the American Revolution, I decided upon becoming a loyalist because I felt that we loyalists should stand up for what we believe in and not be subjected to the patriot acts of violence and cruelty.
The Americans attempt to gaining power in Connecticut
America was all about gaining power at this time but, didn't have everything to effectively do so. They would force and persuade many neutrals to gain their trust and allegiance. The Americans focused highly on patriots and neutrals for gaining power. Neutrals were people who didn't know what side to be on. Nevertheless, being a neutralist was very powerful at this time because they could either choose to be a loyalist or a patriot. The patriots were favored by the Americans because they seemed to have power and were very forceful towards the loyalists. Being a loyalist wasn't always a bad thing, if you were loyalist, you had good connections to England’s culture and economics. The main reason that England and the loyalists had a connection was because they both believed in having a monarchy and aristocracy in government, making it stable. A large number of loyalists continued being loyal to the crown in the 1770s, to keep the power that they had intact. The patriots’ only task was to increase their own power, by doing what they had to, being violent and vulgar to the loyalists to consider themselves hierarchy.
Connecticut during 1700s
During the 1700s Connecticut had many advantages that other states didn’t. They focused mainly on being a well known state for goodness and peace. “Few places in the world,” he believes, “presented a fairer example of peace and good order.” (G.A. Gilbert, the Connecticut loyalists) I believe that living in Connecticut gave my wife and me some advantages in choosing to be loyalists. For example; Connecticut thought that being a stable individual state was important and having peace with other states as well. On the other hand the Americans and the patriots believed in having their own independence to gain freedom and liberty. The British had what was called, “British rule,” which meant that Britain would rule over everyone. I being loyalist, agree with this because I thought their ruling and beliefs were correct and were a good way of taking charge.
Social issues in Connecticut
The social issues that affected my choice to become loyalist were the acts in which the patriots treated the loyalists. I believe that being a loyalist is harder than being a patriot because we were accused of being unjust and wrong in our ways of “British rule.” For we can hardly determine whether the Revolution originated in social and economic unrest, in deep-seated ideological tensions, or in a constitutional dilemma until we take seriously the activities of the loyalists during the Revolution.” (Paul H. Smith, The American loyalists: Notes on their organization and numerical strength.) With this I gather that the patriots thought of loyalist as being imaginary and nonexistent, even though they very much were. Approximately 20-30% was loyalists during the 1760s and 1770s. Yes, the patriots outnumbered the loyalists in Connecticut but that didn’t stop many of us to stand up for British rule. Nevertheless, I encountered advantages to being a loyalist economically. Under British rule, we always tried to control trade to and from North America, which gave us somewhat of an advantage. We also imposed laws and taxes, so that we could trade with colonies and to make sure that they don’t take trade into their own hands. This would in turn benefit Britain’s trade with other colonies.
Works Cited
1) The Connecticut Loyalists
G. A. Gilbert
The American Historical Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Jan., 1899), pp. 273-291
2) The American Loyalists: Notes on Their Organization and Numerical Strength
Paul H. Smith
The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), pp. 259-277
3) The American Promise
James L. Roark
A history of the United States, fourth edition. Page. 229
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