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QUESTION |
| The War of Independence has been called a civil war within a civil war. Were the Patriots justified in abusing the Loyalists and expelling them? |
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DOCUMENT A |
| ....It is, however, a little hard that, having so lately fought and conquered for their safety, we should govern them no longer. By letting them loose before the [Seven Years'] war, how many millions might have been saved? One wild proposal is best answered by another. Let us restore to the French what we have taken from them. We shall see our colonists at our feet, when they have an enemy so near them [Canada]. Let us give the Indians arms, and teach them discipline, and encourage them, now and then, to plunder a plantation. Security and leisure are the parents of sedition.... |
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SOURCE: Samuel Johnson, |
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DOCUMENT B |
| ....Alas! My friends, you have nothing
to oppose to this force but a militia unused
to service, impatient of command, and destitute
of resources. Can your officers depend
upon the privates, or the privates upon the
officers? Your war can be but little
more than mere tumultuary rage. And
besides, there is an awful disparity between
troops that fight the battles of their sovereign
and those that follow the standard of rebellion.... ...Those that unsheathe the sword of rebellion may throw away the scabbard; they cannot be treated with while in arms; and if they lay them down, they are in no other predicament than conquered revels. The conquered in other wars do not forfeit the rights of men, nor all the rights of citizens. Even their bravery is rewarded by a generous victor. Far different is the case of a routed rebel host. My dear countrymen, you have before you, at your election, peace or war, happiness or misery. May the God of our forefathers direct you in the way that leads to peace and happiness, before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, before the evil days come, wherein you shall say, we have no pleasure in them. |
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SOURCE: Daniel Leonard, |
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DOCUMENT C |
| ....There is a just God who presides over
the destinies of nations and who will raise
up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone;
it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat, sir, let it come! It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. The gentleman may cry, Peace, peace! but there is not peace. The war has actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! |
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SOURCE: Patrick Henry, |
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DOCUMENT D |
| This afternoon,
at New York, as William Cunningham and John
Hill were coming from the North River, they
stopped near the liberty pole to see a boxing
match, but had not stood long when Cunningham
was struck at by Smith Richards, James Vandyke,
and several others; called Tory; and used
in a most cruel manner by a much abused most
barbarously, though neither of them gave
the least offense, except being on the King's
side of the question at the meeting this
morning. The leaders of this mob brought Cunningham under the liberty pole, and told him to go down on his knees and damn his Popish King George, and they would then set him free. But, on the contrary, he exclaimed, "God bless King George." They then dragged him through the green, tore the clothes off his back, and robbed him of his watch. They also insisted on Hill's damning the King, but he, refusing, was used in the same manner, and were it not for some of the peace officers, viz., Captain Welsh, John Taylor, William Dey, and Joseph Wilson, together with _______ Goldstream, who rescued them from the violence of this banditti and brought them to the jail for the security of their persons from further injuries, they would inevitably have been murdered. |
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SOURCE: James Rivington, newspaper editor |
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DOCUMENT E |
| ....2. What
a horrid situation would thousands be reduced
to who have taken the oath of allegiance
to the King; yet contrary to their
oath, as well as inclination, must be compelled
to renounce that allegiance, or abandon all
their property in America! How many
thousands more would be reduced to a similar
situation; who, although they took not that
oath, yet would think it inconsistent with
their duty and a good conscience to renounce
their Sovereign; I dare say these will appear
trifling difficulties to our author; but
whatever he may think, there are thousands
and thousands who would sooner lose all they
had in the world, nay life itself, than thus
wound their conscience. A Declaration
of Independency would infallibly disunite
and divide the colonists.
3. By a Declaration for Independency, every avenue to an accommodation with Great-Britain would be closed; the sword only could then decide the quarrel; and the sword would not be sheathed till one had conquered the other. |
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SOURCE: Charles Inglis, |
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DOCUMENT F |
| Among the many errors
America has been guilty of during her contest
with Great Britain, few have been greater,
or attended with more fatal consequences
to these States, than her lenity to the Tories....We
are all crying out against the depreciation
of our money, and entering into measures
to restore it to its value; while the Tories,
who are one principal cause of the depreciation,
are taken no notice of, but suffered to live
quietly among us. We can no longer be silent on this subject, and see the independence of the country, after standing every shock from without, endangered by internal enemies.... Who were the occasion of this war? The Tories! Who persuaded the tyrant of Britain to prosecute it in a manner before unknown to civilized nations, and shocking even to barbarians? The Tories! Who prevailed on the savages of the wilderness to join the standard of the enemy? The Tories! Who have assisted the Indians in taking the scalp from the aged matron, the blooming fair one, the helpless infant, and the dying hero? The Tories! Who advised and who assisted in burning your towns, ravaging your country, and violating the chastity of your women? The Tories! Who are the occasion that thousands of you now mourn the loss of your dearest connections? The Tories! Who have always counteracted the endeavors of Congress to secure the liberties of this country? The Tories! Who refused their money when as good as specie, though stamped with the image of his most sacred Majesty? The Tories! Who continue to refuse it? The Tories! Who do all in their power to depreciate it? The Tories!....Who take the oaths of allegiance to the State one day, and break them the next? The Tories! Who prevent your battalions from being filled? The Tories! Who dissuade men from entering the army? The Tories! Who persuade those who have enlisted to desert? The Tories! Who harbor those who do desert? The Tories! In short, who wish to see us conquered, to see us slaves, to see us hewers of wood and drawers of water? The Tories!.... |
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SOURCE: An anonymous Whig Patriot, |
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DOCUMENT G |
| Boston, November
10, 1779.---His Excellency Count Tyran has
this day published, by authority from His
[French] Majesty, a proclamation for the
suppression of heresy and establishment of
the Inquisition in this town, which has already
begun its functions in many other places
of the continent under His Majesty's dominion.
The use of the Bible in the vulgar tongue [English vernacular] is strictly prohibited, on pain of being punished by discretion of the Inquisition. November 11.---The Catholic religion is not only outwardly professed, but has made the utmost progress among all ranks of people here, owing in a great measure to the unwearied labors of the Dominican and Franciscan friars, who omit no opportunity of scattering the seeds of religion, and converting the wives and daughters of heretics. We hear that the building formerly called the Old South Meeting is fitted up for a cathedral, and that several other old meeting-houses are soon to be repaired for convents.... Philadelphia, November 16---On Tuesday last arrived here the St. Esprit, from Bordeaux, with a most valuable cargo of rosaries, mass books, and indulgences, which have been long expected.... |
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SOURCE: James Rivington, |
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DOCUMENT H |
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Kingston, New Brunswick |
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SOURCE: A loyalist widow in Canada, 1787. |
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DOCUMENT I |
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Occupations of Loyalists Submitting Claims
to the British Government |
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| Farmers | 1,368 | 49.1 |
| Commerce: | ||
| (a) Artisans | 274 | 9.8 |
| (b) Merchants and shopkeepers | 517 | 18.6 |
| (c) Miscellaneous inn-keepers, seamen, etc. | 92 | 3.3 |
| Combined Commerce --> | 883 | 31.7 |
| Professions: | ||
| (a) Lawyers | 55 | |
| (b) Teachers and professors | 21 | |
| (c) Doctors | 81 | |
| (d) Anglican clerics | 63 | |
| (e) Other clerics | 7 | |
| (f) Miscellaneous | 26 | |
| Combined professions --> | 253 | 9.1 |
| Officeholders --> | 282 | 10.1 |
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SOURCE: A Socioeconomic Profile of |
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