HISTORICAL ESSAY 02 – PATRIOTS V. LOYALISTS in the AMERICAN REVOLUTION
PROMPT:
The American Revolution was, in effect, an unexpected consequence of the struggle of British colonial subjects to
demand their full rights as Englishmen rather than be treated as second-class citizens. Write a 5-paragraph essay
explaining the point of view of those who wished to remain in the British empire, the point of view of those who
decided it was time to cut the ties, and finish with an honest appraisal of which side you would have been on had
you lived in that time.
Most common errors:
 Lack of background context, and/or specific historical details
 Lack of length to fully explain the prompt
 4-paragraph essays were allowed but they needed to be fully developed in all four paragraphs with a clear
conclusion beyond just explaining your own choice of sides.
EXAMPLE BELOW of an A+ student essay, according to the prompt. Many essays in this particular assignment were
well-done and achieved “A” or “A-.” Almost all essays were specific to the PROMPT, but some lacked coherence,
enough specific examples, or depth.
During the years around the 2nd Continental Congress of 1775, colonial Americans began to develop contrasting
opinions of British rule in America. Following the Coercive Acts of 1774, many Americans began to question their
loyalty to the King, while others were distraught about the behavior of rebellious colonials and supported the increase of
control that Britain had set into place. While the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts as many colonists called them, were
mainly intended to punish the rioting Massachusetts, it made many other colonies worry that they could be next. Some
colonists however, supported the changes that tightened authority of Massachusetts because they were in support of
remaining under British rule. As tension rose between America and its mother country, two sides became obvious; the
Patriots and the Loyalists.
Patriots was a term that referred to those in favor of cutting ties with Britain, with force if necessary. They were
fed up with the Britain abusing the power it had over them, and questioned why they continued to accept British authority
in the colonies, especially when they were not represented in British government. They felt like they had no voice to be
heard in Parliament. Primarily represented in the 2nd Continental Congress by John Adams and Ben Franklin, many
believed that the colonies were more than capable of governing themselves and would do a better job than the British
Crown. Patriots recognized that they were not benefiting from being colonies, especially since they had developed into a
mostly independent nation. Ben Franklin was especially firm in his belief that, through the generations, colonists had
become a different nationality, and he found offense in being called an Englishman. Not all Patriots wanted complete
separation from Britain. Many resented the taxes and Acts passed by Parliament, but enjoyed the security of being part of
such a developed empire. For the most part though, Patriots were worried by their quickly diminishing rights and felt that
America should cut its ties with Britain.
Loyalists were on the opposite side of the spectrum with their opinions on British rule. They didn’t see problems
with the way Britain was ruling the colonies and therefore wanted to uphold a good relationship with their mother nation.
Despite the “taxation without representation”, these Loyalists understood the reason behind the taxes. They supported that
Britain needed funds in order to protect the land that they had fought hard to win in the French and Indian war. John
Dickinson of Pennsylvania was the major voice for Loyalists in the Continental Congress. He was actually the only
representative who did not sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776. Despite everyone else accepting
independence, Dickinson’s views did not sway, and he stayed loyal to the king. Although they are usually shown as being
the traitors to America, they were usually the people who felt that the situation didn’t need to change in the colonies, and
were comfortable being a part of such a huge world power.
Personally, I think that I would have been on the side of the Patriots, had I been alive at this time. My main reason
is that colonial America, at this point, was very developed. I feel like they would have been ready to start a government of
their own. Both Britain and the colonies made mistakes in how they dealt with their disagreements, but personally I feel
like I would have supported the Patriots, who were confident and proud of their nation’s ability to run themselves. I have
never liked being pushed around and controlled; I prefer my freedom, and I know that it would have been very unlikely
for me to have supported being controlled by a faraway island such as Britain.
After the French and Indian War, different events such as the Tea Act of 1773, the Coercive Acts of 1774, and the
2nd Continental Congress of 1775 led to the development of two main points of view in colonial America regarding
British rule. Patriots were in support of increasing America’s independence, and some went as far as to want complete
independence. The restraints on their liberties were one of the main reasons that these Patriots were more loyal to the
colonies than the mother nation of Britain. Loyalists were quite the opposite. They wanted to upkeep the colonies’
relationship with Britain and didn’t support cutting ties with them. Both sides had different reasons for their beliefs, and it
is interesting to look at their different perspectives during the time leading up to the American Revolutionary War.