Loyalism in Massachusetts: The Characteristics and Motivations of the Harvard Loyalists

<p>Historians have tended to approach the American Revolution from the perspective of its winners. They have tried to understand the causes and consequences of the war in terms of the attitudes, perceptions and actions of the revolutionaries. Although this approach had been very fruitful, the focus on the reasons for a revolution has obscured the possibility that any sensible, right-thinking American could have opposed the Revolution. There has long been an interest, however, in those colonists who did not support the Revolution. Recently, historians have sought to explain the motivation of these loyalists as a result of the characteristics and interests common to the social, economic, or geographical groups that were most frequently opposed to the Revolution.</p> <p>William Nelson, for example, suggested that rank and file loyalists tended to be members of economic or cultural minorities. Thus, their loyalism could be explained by their greater fear of dominance by a local majority than their fear of continued British rule. Nelson also studied the leaders of the loyalists, finding them to be distinguished from their ,more patriotic contemporaries by a dependence on Britain for their political authority, Other historians, like Wallace Brown and Leonard Labaree, have focused on the loyalists' occupations, government office holding and religious affiliations as important characteristics. Finding that the loyalists were frequently merchants, lawyers, royal officials and Anglicans they have suggested that these were the significant factors in their loyalism. The loyalists were, in this view, motivated by a combination of close ties to Britain and economic and political self-interest.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

BA

Level thesis:degree_level

bachelors

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Oberlin College Honors Theses

Year dc:date

1981

Author dc:creator

• Rosenbloom, Joshua L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lasser, Carol

• American History
• History
• loyalists
• Massachusetts
• Harvard
• Revolution

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1364204881

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:oberlin1364204881