The American
Revolution in Drawings and Print |
| To what extent is it accurate to call the American Revolution a "civil war"? |
| 1st, That
the British legislature, as to the power of making laws, represents the whole British
empire, and has authority to bind every part and every subject without the least
distinction, whether such subjects have a right to vote or not, whether the law binds
places within the realm or without. 2nd, That the colonists, by the condition on which they migrated, settled, and now exist, are more emphatically subjects of Great Britain….It must be granted that they migrated with leave as colonies, and therefore from the very meaning of the word were, are, and must be subjects, and owe allegiance and subjection to their mother country. Debate on the Repel of the Stamp Act |
| l shall
take some pains to obviate the objection, and to show that a denial of the British
parliament over America is by no means inconsistent with that connection, which ought to
subsist between the mother country and her Colonies,….a strict connection between the
inhabitants of Great Britain and those of America. They are fellow-subjects; . . . . Considerations on
the Nature and Extent of the Legislative Authority of the British Parliament |
|
…anxious to prevent, if it had been possible, the effusion of the blood of my
subjects,…still hoping that my people in America would have discerned the traitorous
views of their leaders, and have been convinced, that to be a subject of Great Britain,
with all its consequences, is to be the freest member of any civil society in the known
world….The object is too important, the spirit of the British nation too high, the
resources with which God hath blessed her too numerous, to give up so many colonies which
she has planted with great industry, nursed with great tenderness, encouraged with many
commercial advantages, and protected and defended at much expense of blood and
treasure…. Speech to Parliament |
| On your
side of the water, I suppose you will not reason with so much coolness; you will insist
upon your charter rights, and the injustice of being taxed unrepresented. You will be
hanging of governors and lawyers in effigy, and penning flaming addresses to rouse the
passions of the people. But let me ask you, as an American, and a well-wisher to my
country, what will this avail? You must either throw off the yoke, or submit: which is the
most eligible measure I need not point out to you; but to bellow and roar, to shew your
teeth and snarl, when you cannot bite, is in my opinion, too much like a bull dog chained,
who barks aloud only to alarm the family, even when there is no danger. Probably you will think I have sunk into all the supineness of a mere Englishman; that I have caught the soporific contagion of this metropolis, and have lost all the ardour, the amor patriæ, which has constantly distinguished the Americans. I have in my opinion endeavored to steer a middle course between the turbulent spirit of sedition, and the tyrannic wish of enthralling a free and brave people. A Letter From an American Lawyer to His
Friend |
| ...I shall
conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks...Why is it that the enemy have left
the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy:
New England is not infested with tories, and we are...And what is a tory? Good God! What
is he? I shall not be afraid to go with a hundred whigs against a thousand tories, were
they to attempt to get into arms. Every tory is a coward; for sevile, slavish,
self-intrested fear is the foundation of toryism; and a amn under such influence, though
he may be cruel, never can be brave...let us reason the matter together: your conduct is
an invitation to the enemy, yet not one in a thousand of you has heart enough to join him.
[British General] Howe is as much decieved by you as the American cause is injured by you. The American Crisis |
| By a
reconciliation with Britain, a period would be put to the present calamitous war, by which
so many lives have been lost, and so many more must be lost if it continues... peace-that
fairest offspring and gift of heaven-will be restored...Agriculture,commerece, and
industry would resume their wonted vigor...our trade would still have the protection of
the greatest naval power in the world...The Americans are properly Britons. A Loyalist Viewpoint |
| ...The
history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world… He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained;… He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only…He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people…He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny,… : Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant,… That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown... Declaration
of Independence |
The American
Revolution in Drawings and Print |
| Article 5: It is agreed that Congress shall earnestly recommend it to the legislatures of the respective states to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to real British subjects; Article 6: The Paris Peace Treaty( Peace Treaty of 1783) |
