A Loyalist And His Life Essay Research — страница 2

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was hanging it blew through the yard and I had to chase it down. When I finally got my hands on it I read it, thought about it, and then I threw it in the fire. Not everyone in the colony read his work and nodded with approval. I was definitely one of those people and there were many others just like me. We considered ourselves the ?hard-core loyalists?. We had been blind-sided by our once friends, now rebels and some of their powerful propaganda. I was quite anxious to help England extinguish the fires that Thomas Paine had started. But due to the rebels outnumbering loyalists in my colony I had no choice but to defend my family and myself and had no opportunity to take aggressive action to directly defend any of Parliaments decisions. I had to worry about whether or not my home

would still be standing the next day and whether or not I could find anyone to purchase my crops. No one wanted to buy anything from someone who believed in and supported Parliament. I began to loose everything, my farm and even my friends who joined the rebel cause. All I had left was my family and my crown. On several occasions in 1775 I was offered regiments in the rebel service from some old neighbors who had become captains. They had hoped that I would change my mind and possibly manage to rebuild the life which I once had. These men were once my ?friends? and when I turned down their offers deserted my family and me for the last time. All they wanted was for me to join in their quest for independence and that was something that I just could not do. I repeatedly turned down

offers. It was then that the threats began. It was then that we began receiving letters threatening my family and me, we would find rebel flags flying high in our yard, and people would shout at us as they passed by our home. Such threats made me by my own admission armed my family and prepared them to defend themselves if needed. My family and I truly feared for our lives and our futures. The merchants in town would not permit us to purchase anything from their shops and no one would buy any of our crops. If it were not for the livestock and other crops which we grew on our farm we would have starved. There was this one family down the road. The woman?s husband was a rebel but she knew of our disposition and did not blame us for what we believed in and she helped smuggle us

supplies like medicines, weapons, ammunition, and tools when we needed them. If it were not for her we probably would not have been able to survive or stand our ground. The patriots began to enact harsh penal laws against us and they confiscated our estates, all of which they could get their hands on (Maier 14). Most of us loyalists did indeed suffer for our views. I myself continued to voice my opinions in parliament?s benefit. It was a miracle that I was not shot on the spot on several different occasions. I just prayed for reconciliation with the British government. Then came along John Locke?s theory of natural rights and limited government. Thus, us loyalists just like the rebels criticized a lot of British actions. It was just the case that I wanted to pursue peaceful forms

of protest because personally I thought that violence would eventually give rise to the rule of tyranny. I too believed that independence would mean the loss of ?economic benefits? derived from membership in the British mercantile system (Nevins 117-119), but we still remained loyal. When warfare began those of us who did not take to the battle fields on the British side took refuge with faithful friends, who even though had different beliefs they kept us hidden from the rebel?s who wanted our lives. We American troops won the war and they gained independence from England my family and I immediately left the country and settled in Canada where we hoped to be safe and begin our new lives (Lancaster, Bruce, Plumb 203). Decades after the Revolution Americans preferred to forget

about us loyalists but indeed I will never forget the rebels. Brown, Wallace. The Good Americans: Loyalists in the American Revolution. New York: Macmillan, 1971. Lancaster, Bruce, J.H. Plumb, Bruce Catton. The Revolution. New York: American Heritage, 1971. Nevins, Allen. The American States: During and After the Revolution. New York: Macmillan, 1927. Maier, Paul. The Old Revolutionaries. New York: Vintage, 1980. VanDoren, Carl. Secret History of the American Revolution. New York: The Viking Press, 1941. Ward, Harry M. The American Revolution: Nationhood Achieved. New York: St. Martin?s Press, 1995.