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Loyalists, Fence-sitters and Patriots in the American Revolution

Image 1. British loyalists fought alongside British soldiers and Native Americans at the Battle of Oriskany on August 6, 1777. This 1857 engraving by John Reuben Chapin depicts a scene at the battle. Print: Wikimedia Commons/Ballou's pictorial 

By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff

In the American Revolution, colonists split their loyalties between Great Britain and a new American state. However, the exact number of American colonists who favored independence from Great Britain is unknown. It is also impossible to know how many colonists wanted to stay with Britain.

For years, it was widely believed that one-third of the colonists favored the Revolution and one-third opposed it. The rest were undecided. These beliefs stemmed from the personal writings of John Adams in 1815. Adams was one of the founding fathers of the United States as well as the young country's second president. Historians have since concluded that, in his writing, Adams was referring to American attitudes toward the French Revolution (1789–1799), not the American Revolution. 

Recent research on the American Revolution has changed those estimates about colonial attitudes and opinions. Scholars now think about 20 percent of the colonists were loyalists. Loyalists were those who remained loyal to Great Britain and King George III. The loyalists stood in opposition to the dedicated patriots, another small percentage of the population. Patriots believed there was no other option but American independence. Often overlooked is the largest group – colonists who were neutral or fence-sitters, who did not commit strongly to one side or the other. 

A print from 1775 depicts a "Virginia loyalist" and a group of "liberty men."

The loyalist is being forced to sign papers while the crowd watches him, holding weapons.

Photo: Library of Congress/David Phillip.

On The Fence

With so many colonists undecided, the war became a great struggle to gain popular support for one side or the other. The patriots worked to win the hearts and minds of a majority of the people. They knew their success depended on broad popular support. If enough colonists backed the patriot cause, Britain's control of the colonies would be doomed. Even if the British army won a military victory, the Crown would be unable to regain the allegiance of many colonists. Patriots believed that revolution would merely flare up at a later date.

Reasons for supporting either side varied. The British understood the need to build up colonial popular support for the loyalist cause. Some colonists joined either cause simply for personal gain or military glory. The American colonists were British citizens, after all. Those who supported Britain might have felt a deep sense of loyalty and patriotism to the mother country. Some colonial farmers profited from selling goods to British forces. Other farmers profited by selling to the patriots.

As the conflict dragged on, however, patriots won the war of propaganda. Their Committees of Correspondence produced powerful opinion pieces to persuade fence-sitters to join the patriot cause. Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "Common Sense," stirred newfound feelings of American identity.

Tensions between patriots and loyalists had the power to split communities, turning neighbors into enemies. Patriots publicly humiliated loyalists and encouraged violence against them. Many loyalists found their property vandalized, robbed and burned. The patriots also controlled public debate by intimidating those with pro-British opinions.

Benjamin Franklin published the "Join, or Die" cartoon in 1754 during the French and Indian War, urging a colonial alliance. The cartoon was published again during the Stamp Act crisis and then during the Revolutionary War. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Library of Congress.

Families themselves were sometimes divided over the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin's son, William Franklin, was a loyalist governor of New Jersey. Ben Franklin was a devoted patriot and later helped to draft the United States Constitution. William supported the British effort during the war. After the American victory, he rarely, if ever, spoke to his father.

What Happened To The Loyalists?

In the end, many loyalists simply left the newly formed United States. About 80,000 of them fled to Canada or Britain during or just after the war. Loyalists were often wealthy, educated, older and members of the Anglican church. Their departure changed the social fabric of the former colonies. Most were simply trying to preserve their way of life, though American history brands them as traitors. After all, history is always written by the winners.