During the 1760s and 1770s, the years leading up to the American Revolution, many people were forced to choose to be loyalist or patriot.
Arriving in Connecticut
Meanwhile 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 British 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 British 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 England. With this I notice that the loyalists had common ties with England’s economics and politics, and that the patriots were favored by the British because of the mutual feelings for “POWER.”
Britain’s attempt on gaining power
Britain 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. Neutrals were people that didn't know what side to be on and the choice didn't matter so much to them. Being a Neutralist was very powerful at this time because they could either choose to be a loyalist or a patriot. Patriots were favored by the British 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 by culture and economics. The main reason that England and Loyalist 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. The social issues affecting my choice to be loyalist or patriot are the way the British treat the loyalists. The British and the patriots called loyalists Tories, which was a slang or rude term to describe the loyalists.
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