In June, I 776, when Richard Henry Lee proposed a discussion about independence at the Second Continental Congress, ideas about political loyalty and royal ism in Virginia changed drastically. Almost overnight, there was a general consensus throughout most of the colony on the creation ofa Virginia exceptionalism: the idea that Virginia- as the largest, richest, and most populous colony- should be the leading voice of the upcoming American Revolution. This thesis argues that the ways Virginians perceived their place in the Revolutionary struggle was, in many ways, mirrored in their treatment of loyalists in the state. By examining publications on loyalism in the Virginia Gazelle between 1770 and 1781, and the Loyalist Claims Records, it is clear that Virgin ia, which was once tolerant and sometimes encouraging of loyalist and patriot debates, made a conscious decision after Lee's Resolution in June, I 776 to present themselves as a state based solely on patriotic values. The studies of Judith Van Buskirk and Joseph Tiedemann on New York, which dominate the historiography on loyalism, claim that New York embraced their loya lists as peace makers between the British Army and regular citizens. This thesis will show a direct contrast from New York, where Virginia loyalists were pacified and relegated to the rn1!away slave advertisements in the Virginia Gazettes.
","abstract_html":"<p>In June, I 776, when Richard Henry Lee proposed a discussion about independence at the Second Continental Congress, ideas about political loyalty and royal ism in Virginia changed drastically. Almost overnight, there was a general consensus throughout most of the colony on the creation ofa Virginia exceptionalism: the idea that Virginia- as the largest, richest, and most populous colony- should be the leading voice of the upcoming American Revolution. This thesis argues that the ways Virginians perceived their place in the Revolutionary struggle was, in many ways, mirrored in their treatment of loyalists in the state. By examining publications on loyalism in the Virginia Gazelle between 1770 and 1781, and the Loyalist Claims Records, it is clear that Virgin ia, which was once tolerant and sometimes encouraging of loyalist and patriot debates, made a conscious decision after Lee's Resolution in June, I 776 to present themselves as a state based solely on patriotic values. The studies of Judith Van Buskirk and Joseph Tiedemann on New York, which dominate the historiography on loyalism, claim that New York embraced their loya lists as peace makers between the British Army and regular citizens. This thesis will show a direct contrast from New York, where Virginia loyalists were pacified and relegated to the rn1!away slave advertisements in the Virginia Gazettes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Seal, Stephanie Anne"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Phyllis Jestice"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z","subjects":["Arts and Humanities","History","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/553","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Phyllis Jestice"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Seal, Stephanie Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-11-20T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts and Humanities","History","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/553"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In June, I 776, when Richard Henry Lee proposed a discussion about independence at the Second Continental Congress, ideas about political loyalty and royal ism in Virginia changed drastically. Almost overnight, there was a general consensus throughout most of the colony on the creation ofa Virginia exceptionalism: the idea that Virginia- as the largest, richest, and most populous colony- should be the leading voice of the upcoming American Revolution. This thesis argues that the ways Virginians perceived their place in the Revolutionary struggle was, in many ways, mirrored in their treatment of loyalists in the state. By examining publications on loyalism in the Virginia Gazelle between 1770 and 1781, and the Loyalist Claims Records, it is clear that Virgin ia, which was once tolerant and sometimes encouraging of loyalist and patriot debates, made a conscious decision after Lee's Resolution in June, I 776 to present themselves as a state based solely on patriotic values. The studies of Judith Van Buskirk and Joseph Tiedemann on New York, which dominate the historiography on loyalism, claim that New York embraced their loya lists as peace makers between the British Army and regular citizens. This thesis will show a direct contrast from New York, where Virginia loyalists were pacified and relegated to the rn1!away slave advertisements in the Virginia Gazettes.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Victims of Liberty: Virginia's Response to Loyalists and Loyalism in Williamsburg, 1770-1781"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kyle Zelner","Susannah Ural","Phyllis Jestice"],"dc:creator":["Seal, Stephanie Anne"],"dc:date.available":["2018-11-20T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In June, I 776, when Richard Henry Lee proposed a discussion about independence at the Second Continental Congress, ideas about political loyalty and royal ism in Virginia changed drastically. Almost overnight, there was a general consensus throughout most of the colony on the creation ofa Virginia exceptionalism: the idea that Virginia- as the largest, richest, and most populous colony- should be the leading voice of the upcoming American Revolution. This thesis argues that the ways Virginians perceived their place in the Revolutionary struggle was, in many ways, mirrored in their treatment of loyalists in the state. By examining publications on loyalism in the Virginia Gazelle between 1770 and 1781, and the Loyalist Claims Records, it is clear that Virgin ia, which was once tolerant and sometimes encouraging of loyalist and patriot debates, made a conscious decision after Lee's Resolution in June, I 776 to present themselves as a state based solely on patriotic values. The studies of Judith Van Buskirk and Joseph Tiedemann on New York, which dominate the historiography on loyalism, claim that New York embraced their loya lists as peace makers between the British Army and regular citizens. This thesis will show a direct contrast from New York, where Virginia loyalists were pacified and relegated to the rn1!away slave advertisements in the Virginia Gazettes.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/553"],"dc:subject":["Arts and Humanities","History","United States History"],"dc:title":["Victims of Liberty: Virginia's Response to Loyalists and Loyalism in Williamsburg, 1770-1781"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:06Z"}