WEBVTT

00:01.540 --> 00:04.620
Prof: Today we're
talking about Loyalists,

00:04.620 --> 00:09.920
and in doing so we're going to
be talking about the range of

00:09.919 --> 00:14.769
responses to the building crisis
in British America.

00:14.770 --> 00:18.670
So basically over the course of
the first few lectures here,

00:18.672 --> 00:22.312
we've looked at the logic
behind some British policy;

00:22.310 --> 00:25.610
we've looked at the logic of
resistance.

00:25.610 --> 00:29.390
Now we're seeing a little
momentum of resistance building

00:29.385 --> 00:31.445
up,
so now also we need to look at

00:31.452 --> 00:34.452
people who maybe are not as
eager to resist against the

00:34.445 --> 00:37.435
British government,
and these are the Loyalists.

00:37.440 --> 00:40.560
And it's going to seem sort of
opposite as to what I ought to

00:40.557 --> 00:43.317
be doing at this moment,
but before we launch into

00:43.316 --> 00:46.346
looking at the Loyalists I
actually want to go back for a

00:46.353 --> 00:48.743
moment to the First Continental
Congress.

00:48.740 --> 00:51.160
Partly because,
as you'll hear when I'm talking

00:51.158 --> 00:54.408
about it,
it's actually the debates and

00:54.406 --> 00:59.996
proceedings and outcome of this
First Continental Congress that

01:00.000 --> 01:04.060
really helps crystallize matters
because,

01:04.060 --> 01:06.020
as we'll see,
it really is 1774,1775 where

01:06.019 --> 01:08.789
you begin to have people who
kind of identify themselves as

01:08.790 --> 01:09.460
Loyalists.

01:09.459 --> 01:11.729
And partly because,
as you'll see,

01:11.726 --> 01:15.776
even in the First Continental
Congress itself there actually

01:15.778 --> 01:17.768
were a range of opinions.

01:17.769 --> 01:21.589
Not everybody in the Congress
agreed on the level of what

01:21.593 --> 01:22.963
needed to be done.

01:22.959 --> 01:26.779
So it's not as though in 1774
you had a blob of Patriot and

01:26.784 --> 01:28.504
then a blob of Loyalist.

01:28.500 --> 01:32.970
You had a spectrum of opinions
throughout society.

01:32.970 --> 01:36.600
So let's look first at the
First Continental Congress in a

01:36.601 --> 01:39.921
little bit more detail here,
just at the start of the

01:39.915 --> 01:40.675
lecture.

01:40.680 --> 01:44.050
And as I mentioned when I last
discussed the Congress,

01:44.050 --> 01:49.190
it wasn't only composed of
radicals though,

01:49.190 --> 01:52.570
as I'll discuss in a moment,
just the simple fact that this

01:52.565 --> 01:55.295
Congress was called was a pretty
bold action.

01:55.300 --> 01:58.000
But even so,
there was a range of opinions

01:57.995 --> 01:59.965
represented in the Congress.

01:59.970 --> 02:02.910
So there were some more radical
types present--

02:02.909 --> 02:05.929
so you did have people like
Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry

02:05.932 --> 02:08.132
there,
and already these people are

02:08.133 --> 02:10.913
radical in their thoughts,
they're already pondering the

02:10.908 --> 02:12.918
possibility of war--
you'll hear from Patrick Henry

02:12.917 --> 02:15.567
in a moment--
but there were also moderates

02:15.569 --> 02:20.069
there who were more in favor of
reconciliation or reform and who

02:20.068 --> 02:23.918
hoped that the meeting of the
Congress would maybe show

02:23.923 --> 02:28.353
Parliament that the colonies
were united and determined,

02:28.348 --> 02:31.978
and that maybe the simple fact
that it met would inspire

02:31.983 --> 02:34.893
Parliament to modify some of its
policies.

02:34.889 --> 02:38.029
And as we'll see,
it ends up being that those who

02:38.029 --> 02:41.429
were more radical in their
leanings ultimately have a

02:41.431 --> 02:44.901
slight majority in this
Continental Congress and so in

02:44.897 --> 02:47.577
the end they actually win the
day,

02:47.580 --> 02:50.570
but it isn't obvious that
that's going to be the case at

02:50.572 --> 02:51.282
the outset.

02:51.280 --> 02:55.530
Now the delegates to this
Congress met in Philadelphia in

02:55.525 --> 02:58.325
the beginning of September in
1774.

02:58.330 --> 03:01.930
There were 55 men present and,
as I mentioned before,

03:01.927 --> 03:05.797
most of them had some kind of
experience with politics in

03:05.802 --> 03:07.882
their individual colonies.

03:07.878 --> 03:11.448
Now if you do think about the
fact that this Congress existed,

03:11.449 --> 03:16.049
just calling it into existence
was something of a radical act,

03:16.050 --> 03:19.950
because if you think about it,
this is a colonial congress,

03:19.949 --> 03:24.469
a self-appointed congress that
granted itself power of some

03:24.473 --> 03:27.753
kind over all of the colonies
and even,

03:27.750 --> 03:30.910
as we're about to see,
passed something that was in

03:30.914 --> 03:34.404
the equivalent of legislation
that applied to all of the

03:34.396 --> 03:35.216
colonies.

03:35.220 --> 03:38.600
So in a sense that's a pretty
radical gesture.

03:38.598 --> 03:43.698
And I found actually a satire
written in 1774 that does a good

03:43.699 --> 03:48.549
job I think of showing how the
Congress did seem radical to

03:48.548 --> 03:52.978
some and how to some it did not
represent happy,

03:52.979 --> 03:55.189
good things that were about to
happen but actually represented

03:55.185 --> 03:56.735
something frightening and out of
control.

03:56.740 --> 03:58.190
And it's--Actually,
it's a broadside,

03:58.190 --> 04:01.970
so it was a single sheet,
and this is a satire so it was

04:01.973 --> 04:06.103
meant to be making fun of people
who were just elected to the

04:06.099 --> 04:07.819
Continental Congress.

04:07.818 --> 04:10.628
This is actually from New York
and it came out just after New

04:10.632 --> 04:13.162
York had decided who was going
to go to the Continental

04:13.163 --> 04:14.433
Congress from New York.

04:14.430 --> 04:16.890
So these are people who were
just making fun of the whole

04:16.891 --> 04:18.651
idea of having a Continental
Congress.

04:18.649 --> 04:22.829
So it's a broadside and it's
made to look like a very formal

04:22.829 --> 04:26.289
series of resolutions,
and actually it's titled

04:26.290 --> 04:29.750
"A Meeting of the True Sons
of Liberty,"

04:29.745 --> 04:32.825
and I--
after class I'll post a link to

04:32.831 --> 04:33.141
it.

04:33.139 --> 04:35.079
It's actually,
as is everything these days,

04:35.083 --> 04:37.863
digitized so that you can
actually see what it looks like.

04:37.860 --> 04:41.200
So the broadside--series of
resolutions, it reads:

04:41.196 --> 04:42.486
"Number one.

04:42.490 --> 04:45.120
Resolved, That in this general
Time of resolving,

04:45.117 --> 04:47.577
we have as good a right to
resolve as the most

04:47.579 --> 04:48.619
resolute."

04:48.620 --> 04:48.940
Okay.

04:48.942 --> 04:51.582
[laughter]
This is not a serious series of

04:51.583 --> 04:52.553
resolutions.

04:52.550 --> 04:53.470
"Number two.

04:53.468 --> 04:56.168
Resolved: That we have the
whole Sense of the City,

04:56.170 --> 04:58.230
County, Province,
and all the Colonies,

04:58.225 --> 05:00.545
concentrated in our own
Persons."

05:00.550 --> 05:03.180
Again something that's not
thrilling the people writing

05:03.184 --> 05:04.164
these resolutions.

05:04.160 --> 05:05.090
Number three.

05:05.086 --> 05:07.796
"Resolved:
That these Resolves,

05:07.800 --> 05:10.470
and any we may afterward see
fit to promulgate,

05:10.470 --> 05:13.240
shall be approved by all
sensible and good Men in our

05:13.235 --> 05:15.435
Parent Country;
and that [they shall]

05:15.444 --> 05:17.624
even make that ungracious
Varlet,

05:17.620 --> 05:19.020
Lord North--"
"Varlet"

05:19.016 --> 05:21.186
is one of those words you don't
get to say very often.

05:21.189 --> 05:22.799
It made me really happy to type
it today.

05:22.800 --> 05:26.370
[laughs]--that ungracious
Varlet, Lord North,

05:26.370 --> 05:29.750
it will make him "shake in
his Shoes (when he sees them)

05:29.745 --> 05:31.485
and split his Breeches."

05:31.490 --> 05:31.850
Okay.

05:31.851 --> 05:35.481
The eternal joke of people
splitting their pants.

05:35.480 --> 05:39.380
That dates back to 1774 and
practically earlier.

05:39.379 --> 05:41.659
I would assume it goes earlier
than that, the eternal joke.

05:41.660 --> 05:44.640
So Lord North will shake in his
shoes;

05:44.639 --> 05:46.509
it will make him split his
breeches.

05:46.509 --> 05:49.109
Resolve number four:
"That any Act or Acts of

05:49.112 --> 05:52.142
Parliament which prevent the
Colonies from triumphing over

05:52.139 --> 05:54.689
the Liberties,
sporting with the goods or at

05:54.692 --> 05:57.622
Will claiming the Properties of
the British Ministry,

05:57.620 --> 06:01.130
is a cruel Oppression in which
all the Colonies are intimately

06:01.129 --> 06:01.819
concerned.

06:01.819 --> 06:02.499
Resolved ...

06:02.497 --> 06:05.887
.That the Non-Payment of Debts
contracted with England is the

06:05.887 --> 06:09.277
only Way to save the Credit of
those who have no Money to pay

06:09.278 --> 06:10.858
their Debts with."

06:10.860 --> 06:11.100
Okay.

06:11.100 --> 06:13.990
So that's attacking the logic
of people who don't want to pay

06:13.987 --> 06:14.417
taxes.

06:14.420 --> 06:16.470
Well, they just don't have
money and they don't feel like

06:16.470 --> 06:16.800
paying.

06:16.800 --> 06:20.320
Resolved: "That the best
Way of approving our Loyalty,

06:20.317 --> 06:21.527
is to spit in the...

06:21.529 --> 06:24.119
King's face;
as the means of opening his

06:24.115 --> 06:24.855
Eyes."

06:24.860 --> 06:29.880
Okay, and then finally, lastly:
Resolved: "That every Man,

06:29.879 --> 06:31.849
Woman or Child,
who doth not agree with our

06:31.845 --> 06:34.185
Sentiments,
whether he, she or they

06:34.190 --> 06:37.870
understand them or not,
is an Enemy to his Country,

06:37.870 --> 06:39.710
wheresoever he was born...

06:39.709 --> 06:42.959
,whatever he may think of it;
and that he ought at least to

06:42.964 --> 06:44.924
be tarred and feathered,
if not hanged,

06:44.923 --> 06:46.793
drawn and quartered;
all Statutes,

06:46.788 --> 06:49.128
Laws and Ordinances whatsoever
to the contrary

06:49.134 --> 06:50.444
notwithstanding."

06:50.440 --> 06:50.860
Okay.

06:50.860 --> 06:53.980
[laughs]
So that satire clearly throws

06:53.980 --> 06:59.290
within it a slew of accusations
against this pending Continental

06:59.290 --> 07:00.470
Congress.

07:00.470 --> 07:03.770
You can see that it's being
accused of being arbitrary,

07:03.774 --> 07:07.084
of promoting lawlessness,
of having a lack of tolerance

07:07.079 --> 07:09.649
for anybody who feels any
differently;

07:09.649 --> 07:12.799
that it's being accused of
displaying a lack of respect or

07:12.800 --> 07:15.400
gratitude towards the mother
country, maybe even

07:15.399 --> 07:18.599
vindictiveness;
and--as it was clear in that

07:18.596 --> 07:19.986
first,
"We resolve to be

07:19.985 --> 07:21.535
resolving in this time of
resolving"--

07:21.540 --> 07:24.170
they're also accusing it of
having a stupid amount of

07:24.173 --> 07:25.443
self-importance,
right?

07:25.439 --> 07:27.599
Continental Congress, harrumph.

07:27.600 --> 07:27.800
Sure.

07:27.803 --> 07:29.523
Go have your little Continental
Congress.

07:29.519 --> 07:33.119
So any of the reasons would
have been part of the reasoning

07:33.115 --> 07:36.895
why someone might have felt that
this Continental Congress was

07:36.896 --> 07:40.736
not only not a good idea but
potentially a dangerous idea.

07:40.740 --> 07:43.720
So for one reason or another,
people clearly found the

07:43.718 --> 07:46.978
calling of the Continental
Congress somewhat remarkable.

07:46.980 --> 07:50.890
So the Congress' first meeting
was on September 5,

07:50.889 --> 07:54.069
and one of the first things
that they had to debate,

07:54.069 --> 07:57.719
logically enough,
is how the Congress is going to

07:57.718 --> 07:59.008
vote on issues.

07:59.009 --> 08:02.039
Should voting be based on the
population of each colony,

08:02.043 --> 08:04.803
which obviously gives bigger
colonies an advantage,

08:04.802 --> 08:07.012
or should each colony have one
vote?

08:07.009 --> 08:08.119
The eternal question.

08:08.120 --> 08:10.970
Obviously, this is going to
come back and hit us with a

08:10.971 --> 08:13.351
vengeance at the Constitutional
Convention.

08:13.350 --> 08:14.500
Student: How did they
vote on that?

08:14.500 --> 08:16.240
Prof: How'd they--
[laughs]

08:16.238 --> 08:18.608
Oh, that's one of those
question-in-a-question

08:18.610 --> 08:19.350
questions.

08:19.350 --> 08:22.430
That's--I have not gone to look
at the record to see formally

08:22.428 --> 08:24.018
how they voted on the voting.

08:24.019 --> 08:27.429
I would assume they voted by
person, but I will have to

08:27.434 --> 08:30.664
actually look that up to tell
you how they voted.

08:30.660 --> 08:32.710
The question was how do you
vote on how you're going to

08:32.712 --> 08:32.982
vote?

08:32.980 --> 08:34.990
[laughs]
That's a really good question.

08:34.990 --> 08:38.600
I will come in next time and
tell you the answer to that

08:38.597 --> 08:39.317
question.

08:39.320 --> 08:41.160
I had not considered that
before.

08:41.159 --> 08:42.609
Okay. How do you vote on voting?

08:42.610 --> 08:42.910
Okay.

08:42.914 --> 08:46.284
So however you vote on voting,
that was one of the first

08:46.279 --> 08:49.729
things that they had to debate--
was how voting was going to

08:49.731 --> 08:52.701
work, and as I said it's going
to come back and smack us again

08:52.698 --> 08:54.448
in the Constitutional
Convention.

08:54.450 --> 09:00.500
Now this whole debate--voting
on voting--tried the patience of

09:00.501 --> 09:02.091
Patrick Henry.

09:02.090 --> 09:02.290
Okay.

09:02.291 --> 09:03.861
Patrick Henry,
obviously one of the more

09:03.863 --> 09:06.083
radical members of this First
Continental Congress,

09:06.080 --> 09:09.580
really impatient at the idea
that they're dilly-dallying

09:09.575 --> 09:12.495
about voting and how to
calculate population of

09:12.498 --> 09:13.958
different colonies.

09:13.960 --> 09:18.060
So this is what Henry said in a
burst of frustration.

09:18.058 --> 09:20.528
"Government is dissolved
...

09:20.528 --> 09:23.058
We are in a state of nature,
Sir ....

09:23.058 --> 09:26.038
The distinctions between
Virginians, Pennsylvanians,

09:26.035 --> 09:27.845
New Yorkers,
and New Englanders,

09:27.846 --> 09:28.776
are no more.

09:28.778 --> 09:31.598
I am not a Virginian but an
American."

09:31.600 --> 09:34.820
Clearly, he has a real talent
for the bold statement,

09:34.820 --> 09:37.600
the memorable bold statement--I
am not a Virginian but an

09:37.602 --> 09:39.692
American--
kind of not as famous as the

09:39.693 --> 09:42.633
liberty or death thing but still
clearly really bold,

09:42.629 --> 09:44.399
also clearly referring to the
logic,

09:44.399 --> 09:46.459
John Locke, social contract.

09:46.460 --> 09:48.390
Just by saying that we're in a
state of nature,

09:48.389 --> 09:52.139
Henry is basically saying that
the social contract between the

09:52.144 --> 09:54.674
colonies and the Crown has been
broken.

09:54.668 --> 09:57.258
Clearly, he's one of the more
radical members of Congress,

09:57.264 --> 10:00.134
so everybody wouldn't hear what
he said and stand up and applaud

10:00.130 --> 10:00.860
and line up.

10:00.860 --> 10:02.970
'Yes, we're in a state of
nature.

10:02.972 --> 10:03.372
Go.'

10:03.370 --> 10:06.310
He's an extreme,
but in fact you can see

10:06.312 --> 10:10.612
throughout the Continental
Congress tension between a real

10:10.613 --> 10:12.503
spectrum of opinions.

10:12.500 --> 10:15.790
There were militant members
really promoting resistance,

10:15.788 --> 10:18.838
even already kind of thinking
maybe war is on the horizon,

10:18.840 --> 10:22.240
and then there were more
moderate members promoting

10:22.240 --> 10:25.370
reconciliation or maybe reform
of some kind.

10:25.370 --> 10:29.190
And you can see the push of the
more militant members and the

10:29.192 --> 10:32.572
sort of debate between the
different kinds of opinions

10:32.568 --> 10:36.518
almost immediately within the
first few weeks of meeting,

10:36.519 --> 10:39.279
with the arrival of what came
to be called the Suffolk

10:39.283 --> 10:42.053
Resolves--
Suffolk, Massachusetts,

10:42.052 --> 10:43.452
S-u-f-f-o-l-k.

10:43.450 --> 10:46.470
And again--obviously Suffolk,
Massachusetts--not

10:46.474 --> 10:48.984
surprisingly,
these what you will see as

10:48.982 --> 10:52.782
being very bold resolutions
originate in Massachusetts.

10:52.779 --> 10:56.869
But they were not introduced by
Massachusetts delegates.

10:56.870 --> 10:58.670
This is something John Adams
does later too.

10:58.668 --> 11:03.468
Because Massachusetts is such a
radical colony people--

11:03.470 --> 11:06.540
delegates from Massachusetts
know that they had better not be

11:06.542 --> 11:09.362
the ones to promote anything
that sounds radical because

11:09.359 --> 11:11.509
everybody will immediately
dismiss it.

11:11.509 --> 11:13.959
So in this case the
Massachusetts delegates know if

11:13.961 --> 11:16.711
they come forward and say,
'We brought these resolves;

11:16.710 --> 11:19.390
we want you to consider them,'
people would probably assume

11:19.392 --> 11:22.112
that they were too extreme,
but if they appear to come from

11:22.110 --> 11:24.000
Massachusetts to the Continental
Congress,

11:24.000 --> 11:26.660
well, then that becomes
something that people will be

11:26.658 --> 11:28.038
more open to considering.

11:28.038 --> 11:32.858
So this set of resolves was
sent to the Congress supposedly

11:32.859 --> 11:35.519
from Suffolk County,
Massachusetts,

11:35.520 --> 11:37.400
which is I guess Boston's
county,

11:37.399 --> 11:39.529
and they became known as the
Suffolk Resolves,

11:39.529 --> 11:43.939
so here is a list of some of
the things that these declared.

11:43.940 --> 11:44.300
Okay.

11:44.298 --> 11:48.668
Number one: They declared the
Intolerable Acts or the Coercive

11:48.673 --> 11:50.773
Acts--
however you want to refer to

11:50.767 --> 11:53.557
them--as being unconstitutional
and not to be obeyed.

11:53.558 --> 11:58.258
Number two: They said that
Massachusetts--

11:58.259 --> 12:00.909
which you remember that their
government had been dissolved,

12:00.908 --> 12:03.428
things had been changed because
of everything that had been

12:03.432 --> 12:06.292
going on in Boston--
Massachusetts should create a

12:06.287 --> 12:09.947
new assembly for itself to
collect all colonial taxes and

12:09.950 --> 12:13.290
withhold them from the Crown
until the Massachusetts

12:13.285 --> 12:17.665
government had been restored to
its constitutional foundation.

12:17.668 --> 12:21.208
Number three:
The resolves advised people to

12:21.206 --> 12:26.056
arm themselves and form their
own militia in preparation for

12:26.061 --> 12:30.011
resisting the possibility of
British attack.

12:30.009 --> 12:33.459
Number four:
They proposed that the jailing

12:33.457 --> 12:38.217
of any patriot leader gave
people the right to jail British

12:38.220 --> 12:39.370
officials.

12:39.370 --> 12:42.600
And then finally,
they recommended stringent

12:42.600 --> 12:45.380
economic sanctions against
Britain.

12:45.379 --> 12:45.639
Okay.

12:45.638 --> 12:48.478
Clearly, those are really
radical resolutions on a bunch

12:48.477 --> 12:49.147
of levels.

12:49.149 --> 12:52.289
Now they were proposed;
they were read;

12:52.289 --> 12:54.239
they were presented.

12:54.240 --> 12:58.010
Some in the Continental
Congress applauded them but they

12:58.011 --> 13:01.511
were not initially acted on for
obvious reasons,

13:01.509 --> 13:04.619
because they made a lot of
delegates extremely nervous.

13:04.620 --> 13:10.070
As delegate Joseph Galloway of
Pennsylvania said,

13:10.070 --> 13:11.650
the Suffolk Resolves,
quote, "contained a

13:11.650 --> 13:13.690
complete declaration of war
against Great Britain."

13:13.690 --> 13:14.040
Okay.

13:14.041 --> 13:16.011
They seemed pretty extreme.

13:16.009 --> 13:20.669
Galloway was typical of many
who felt that just failing to

13:20.672 --> 13:25.822
recognize Parliament's right to
regulate trade didn't accomplish

13:25.823 --> 13:28.423
anything,
and as a matter of fact he

13:28.423 --> 13:31.113
wasn't even sure that that was
right in theory.

13:31.110 --> 13:35.590
So Galloway at this moment came
up with his own suggestion about

13:35.589 --> 13:37.579
the best course of action.

13:37.580 --> 13:40.970
And although in comparison with
the really radical Suffolk

13:40.970 --> 13:44.540
Resolves his suggestions are
going to sound conservative,

13:44.538 --> 13:48.318
he actually are promoting ideas
that in and of themselves,

13:48.320 --> 13:51.150
as you'll hear, are radical.

13:51.149 --> 13:55.359
So basically Galloway tries to
come up with a way to change the

13:55.364 --> 13:59.034
basis of the relationship
between the American colonies

13:59.033 --> 14:00.873
and the mother country.

14:00.870 --> 14:05.140
And so he suggests a new plan
of union that he thinks are

14:05.138 --> 14:08.948
going to--it's going to settle
the whole matter.

14:08.950 --> 14:14.590
So Galloway's plan of union
suggested forming a separate

14:14.591 --> 14:16.951
American legislature.

14:16.950 --> 14:19.620
He called it,
I think, the Grand Council,

14:19.619 --> 14:22.889
and it would be elected by
colonial assemblies.

14:22.889 --> 14:27.069
And individual colonies would
continue to govern their own

14:27.071 --> 14:30.891
internal affairs and the Grand
Council would regulate

14:30.885 --> 14:34.255
commercial,
civil and criminal matters that

14:34.263 --> 14:37.393
affected the colonies generally
as a whole.

14:37.389 --> 14:41.389
Now according to Galloway's
plan, this Grand Council could

14:41.385 --> 14:45.695
veto parliamentary legislation--
clearly that's a pretty bold

14:45.700 --> 14:48.310
gesture--
but still it would be inferior

14:48.307 --> 14:51.147
to Parliament,
which could still initiate

14:51.149 --> 14:53.809
legislation relevant to the
colonies.

14:53.808 --> 14:58.088
In essence the Grand Council
would be kind of an inferior

14:58.092 --> 15:00.772
branch of the British
Parliament.

15:00.769 --> 15:04.539
And the great principle behind
Galloway's plan was,

15:04.542 --> 15:08.692
quote, "that no law should
bind America without her

15:08.691 --> 15:10.051
consent."

15:10.048 --> 15:14.228
So that's really what he's
trying to do here is devise a

15:14.229 --> 15:18.559
way for the colonists to consent
to what's being passed in

15:18.559 --> 15:19.699
Parliament.

15:19.700 --> 15:23.320
Now interestingly,
the vote over Galloway's plan

15:23.317 --> 15:27.397
of union was close but it was
ultimately defeated,

15:27.399 --> 15:30.909
and I suppose looking back in
the long view of time it

15:30.905 --> 15:34.875
probably wasn't likely that the
British government would have

15:34.875 --> 15:38.315
approved of the creation of a
kind of second colonial

15:38.315 --> 15:39.435
parliament.

15:39.440 --> 15:41.940
And, as we'll see,
that's unlikely particularly

15:41.938 --> 15:44.928
when you look later at how
Parliament responded to these

15:44.928 --> 15:48.088
continental congresses,
and in a sense you could say

15:48.090 --> 15:51.600
the Continental Congress was a
sort of temporary version of a

15:51.604 --> 15:52.604
Grand Council.

15:52.600 --> 15:55.030
So the fact that Parliament
wasn't too keen on that would

15:55.032 --> 15:57.462
suggest they wouldn't be very
excited about a little baby

15:57.464 --> 16:00.394
colonial parliament--
branch of Parliament being

16:00.389 --> 16:01.309
established.

16:01.308 --> 16:05.108
Even so, Galloway later
declared that his plan lost due

16:05.113 --> 16:07.863
to what he called the violent
party,

16:07.860 --> 16:11.150
and he felt the violent party
was in control of the

16:11.149 --> 16:14.759
Continental Congress,
and in a sense he was right

16:14.764 --> 16:19.744
because the more radical members
did have a very slight majority.

16:19.740 --> 16:23.750
And the defeat of Galloway's
plan actually ended up

16:23.745 --> 16:28.305
mobilizing these more radical
members because it suggested

16:28.312 --> 16:33.042
that the moderates didn't have
the power to accomplish their

16:33.038 --> 16:33.998
goals.

16:34.000 --> 16:38.260
So with this new burst of
confidence in their strength,

16:38.259 --> 16:40.579
with the defeat of Galloway's
plan,

16:40.580 --> 16:46.570
these radicals proposed and
passed the Suffolk Resolves on

16:46.565 --> 16:48.345
October 8,1774.

16:48.350 --> 16:50.020
So they actually passed them.

16:50.019 --> 16:54.009
To many in Congress,
this seemed like an incredibly

16:54.014 --> 16:57.214
bold act of unity among the
colonies,

16:57.210 --> 17:00.820
and even though the individual
resolves were radical,

17:00.820 --> 17:03.950
to many what they noticed most
of all was that it appeared to

17:03.945 --> 17:05.035
be an act of unity.

17:05.038 --> 17:08.128
In a sense it was responding to
Massachusetts and to

17:08.134 --> 17:11.784
Massachusetts' plight with an
action that would affect all of

17:11.778 --> 17:12.808
the colonies.

17:12.808 --> 17:15.568
As John Adams put it,
"This day convinced me

17:15.567 --> 17:17.347
that America will support ...

17:17.348 --> 17:20.698
Massachusetts or perish with
her," so he took it like

17:20.696 --> 17:23.686
many others as a really
interesting sign of colonial

17:23.692 --> 17:24.282
unity.

17:24.278 --> 17:27.898
Now of course not everybody had
such a thrilled reaction to the

17:27.900 --> 17:29.010
Suffolk Resolves.

17:29.009 --> 17:32.679
One completely baffled Loyalist
observer said that he could only

17:32.675 --> 17:35.985
explain the acceptance of the
Suffolk Resolves by assuming

17:35.992 --> 17:38.742
that the delegates,
quote, "came into this

17:38.741 --> 17:41.801
vote immediately after drinking
thirty-two bumpers of the best

17:41.798 --> 17:42.648
Madeira."

17:42.650 --> 17:43.010
Okay.

17:43.006 --> 17:45.286
They just must have been drunk.

17:45.288 --> 17:47.428
[laughs]
There is no other explanation.

17:47.430 --> 17:48.880
This makes no sense.

17:48.880 --> 17:51.250
[laughs]
The eternal explanation for all

17:51.251 --> 17:54.721
of history: I guess they must
have been drunk or crazy.

17:54.720 --> 17:55.110
Okay.

17:55.105 --> 17:59.585
So clearly, a sure sign here
that the colonies are not just

17:59.593 --> 18:01.763
going to be backing down.

18:01.759 --> 18:07.669
Six days later on October 14,
Congress approved the

18:07.670 --> 18:12.900
Declaration and Resolves--
and they had agonized over that

18:12.900 --> 18:15.440
for a month so they didn't just
pass it;

18:15.440 --> 18:17.440
they actually had been
pondering it all along.

18:17.440 --> 18:21.720
And the Declaration and
Resolves actually represented

18:21.722 --> 18:26.342
one of the goals of this
Continental Congress--to write a

18:26.336 --> 18:29.546
clear statement of colonial
rights.

18:29.548 --> 18:34.148
However, this was not as easy
as it might sound because

18:34.154 --> 18:38.764
America was pretty much
following an uncharted path.

18:38.759 --> 18:42.439
Never before in Western history
had colonies dared to rebel

18:42.435 --> 18:45.475
against the mother country in
quite this way,

18:45.480 --> 18:49.040
so now they had to somehow put
on paper a way to justify it.

18:49.038 --> 18:52.308
Why were they doing this and as
important--

18:52.308 --> 18:54.208
actually in a sense maybe more
important--

18:54.210 --> 18:58.670
could all of the colonies agree
on the specifics of colonial

18:58.669 --> 18:59.349
rights?

18:59.348 --> 19:02.578
Could they actually even sit
down and make a statement that

19:02.576 --> 19:03.796
everybody agreed on?

19:03.798 --> 19:07.928
And the difficulties that the
delegates had in writing this

19:07.928 --> 19:12.128
draft really demonstrates once
again how really difficult it

19:12.127 --> 19:16.397
was to define the precise terms
of the colonies' problem with

19:16.398 --> 19:20.088
the mother country,
the precise terms for the

19:20.090 --> 19:24.880
proper relationship between the
colonies and the mother country.

19:24.880 --> 19:27.360
Even when they sat down to do
it--'Okay.

19:27.358 --> 19:29.168
Here we are,
the committee in the First

19:29.167 --> 19:31.677
Continental Congress,
and we're going to form the

19:31.684 --> 19:34.644
Declaration and Resolves and
write down the reasons for our

19:34.637 --> 19:35.247
actions.'

19:35.250 --> 19:38.390
Even with such deliberate
desire on their part,

19:38.386 --> 19:42.066
it was difficult for them to
commit this to writing.

19:42.068 --> 19:43.628
It was difficult for them to
find the right words and to

19:43.632 --> 19:43.862
agree.

19:43.858 --> 19:48.188
And the Declaration and
Resolves was drafted by a

19:48.188 --> 19:49.268
committee.

19:49.269 --> 19:52.349
John Adams was on the committee
--which is good because then he

19:52.351 --> 19:55.481
gets to tell us afterwards about
the creation of the Declaration

19:55.482 --> 19:58.372
and Resolves because he always
likes to explain his role in

19:58.365 --> 20:01.145
every important moment of the
American Revolution.

20:01.150 --> 20:02.620
So he was there.

20:02.618 --> 20:06.818
And the committee ended up
basically stating in their draft

20:06.818 --> 20:10.798
that the Declaration and
Resolves were going to be based

20:10.800 --> 20:12.250
on three things.

20:12.250 --> 20:15.010
Their explanation for what was
going on in the colonies was

20:15.010 --> 20:17.150
going to be based on three
things: Number one,

20:17.153 --> 20:19.943
the laws of nature;
number two, the principles of

20:19.936 --> 20:23.096
the English constitution;
and number three,

20:23.102 --> 20:26.022
the charters of the colonies.

20:26.019 --> 20:29.309
So all of those things,
the laws of nature,

20:29.308 --> 20:31.108
the principles of the English
constitution,

20:31.108 --> 20:34.228
the charters of the colonies,
all of those things were cited

20:34.234 --> 20:36.464
as justification for what was
going on,

20:36.460 --> 20:39.850
but in a sense the real basis
of what was coming out here in

20:39.849 --> 20:43.109
the Declaration and Resolves--
and so in a sense what they

20:43.108 --> 20:46.858
were really most grounded on--
was going to be their sense of

20:46.855 --> 20:50.195
rights as English subjects,
the power of Parliament.

20:50.200 --> 20:53.370
It was really going to be their
understanding of the English

20:53.365 --> 20:54.165
constitution.

20:54.170 --> 20:58.070
And you can hear how important
this particular fact was to them

20:58.069 --> 21:01.529
just in looking at the list of
colonial rights that they

21:01.530 --> 21:04.740
included in this declaration as
being violated.

21:04.740 --> 21:08.300
So they listed that the right
of assembly was being violated,

21:08.298 --> 21:10.968
the right of petition,
the right to be tried by a jury

21:10.971 --> 21:13.181
of their peers,
the right to be free of a

21:13.183 --> 21:16.013
standing army,
the right to choose their own

21:16.013 --> 21:16.843
assemblies.

21:16.838 --> 21:19.908
All of these things are really
basic English constitutional

21:19.910 --> 21:23.190
rights that these colonists are
starting they feel they've been

21:23.191 --> 21:23.881
violated.

21:23.880 --> 21:28.330
As John Adams later explained,
the biggest challenge in

21:28.330 --> 21:33.360
drafting the declaration was in
describing what he called,

21:33.358 --> 21:35.068
quote, "the authority of
Parliament."

21:35.068 --> 21:37.788
What he said was the authority
of Parliament was "indeed

21:37.785 --> 21:39.545
the essence of the whole
controversy;

21:39.548 --> 21:42.778
some were for a flat denial of
all authority;

21:42.779 --> 21:46.559
others for denying the power of
taxation only;

21:46.558 --> 21:49.788
some for denying internal,
but admitting external,

21:49.788 --> 21:50.908
taxation."

21:50.910 --> 21:52.160
So even within this little
committee--

21:52.160 --> 21:54.280
there's only a few people on
the committee--

21:54.279 --> 21:57.009
even there, there are all these
opinions on exactly what's

21:57.013 --> 21:59.843
supposed to be happening in the
relationship with the mother

21:59.844 --> 22:00.424
country.

22:00.420 --> 22:02.490
And as Adams puts it,
"After a multitude of

22:02.494 --> 22:04.814
motions had been made,
discussed, negatived,

22:04.811 --> 22:08.221
it seemed as if we should never
agree upon anything."

22:08.220 --> 22:10.840
So they just can't state what
their resolves are.

22:10.838 --> 22:13.808
However, ultimately they
managed to do it.

22:13.808 --> 22:17.948
John Adams did a lot towards
contributing one particular

22:17.950 --> 22:22.320
article in this document that
said Parliament could not tax

22:22.317 --> 22:24.417
them,
but the colonies would

22:24.419 --> 22:27.609
"cheerfully"
submit to bona fide regulation

22:27.607 --> 22:29.077
of external commerce.

22:29.079 --> 22:32.379
So we have two things. Right.

22:32.380 --> 22:33.550
We have the Suffolk Resolves.

22:33.548 --> 22:35.398
We have the Declaration and
Resolves.

22:35.400 --> 22:39.370
The Continental Congress also
drafted a petition to the King

22:39.365 --> 22:43.175
and it was a restrained--
it was a respectful petition

22:43.184 --> 22:47.484
basically trying to inform the
King of the evil plot hatching

22:47.482 --> 22:51.282
in Parliament to rob the
colonies of their rights.

22:51.279 --> 22:53.749
The petition warned the King
that there were,

22:53.750 --> 22:56.940
quote, "designing and
dangerous men"

22:56.935 --> 22:59.835
in Parliament,
and that they were trying to

22:59.843 --> 23:03.133
intervene between the King and
his faithful subjects.

23:03.130 --> 23:07.160
Now clearly you can hear at
this point, the focus here is on

23:07.161 --> 23:08.051
Parliament.

23:08.048 --> 23:11.258
By petitioning the King,
this Congress is suggesting

23:11.256 --> 23:15.466
that the King is really still a
figure who can be reasoned with,

23:15.470 --> 23:18.130
that the King is someone who
they're appealing to in person

23:18.127 --> 23:20.097
to help with the problem with
Parliament.

23:20.098 --> 23:20.428
Okay.

23:20.434 --> 23:23.254
Suffolk Resolves,
Declaration and Resolves,

23:23.250 --> 23:24.860
petition to the King.

23:24.858 --> 23:30.468
The final thing that the
Congress did was agree on a way

23:30.469 --> 23:35.569
to secure the repeal of all
offensive parliamentary

23:35.567 --> 23:37.197
legislation.

23:37.200 --> 23:40.350
And they decided to do this in
the way that they had always

23:40.354 --> 23:43.134
protested British attacks on
their rights--surprise,

23:43.126 --> 23:44.536
surprise--non-importation.

23:44.540 --> 23:45.140
Right?

23:45.140 --> 23:47.110
They think that always works,
non-importation;

23:47.108 --> 23:48.768
we're going back to
non-importation.

23:48.769 --> 23:52.779
But this time they decided to
really form a network of local

23:52.776 --> 23:56.986
non-importation committees and
towns throughout the colonies to

23:56.987 --> 23:59.497
actually enforce
non-importation.

23:59.500 --> 24:03.040
They called their plan the
Continental Association,

24:03.038 --> 24:07.298
so clearly this is more
ambitious at least in what

24:07.303 --> 24:11.263
they're suggesting it is,
in their desire for what they

24:11.255 --> 24:12.035
want it to be.

24:12.038 --> 24:16.278
And as it happened before,
they included in their plan

24:16.278 --> 24:20.518
localized Committees of
Inspection that would watch to

24:20.519 --> 24:24.629
see who's violating the boycott,
who's drinking tea,

24:24.633 --> 24:26.033
who's buying luxuries.

24:26.028 --> 24:31.438
Now, the creation of the
Continental Association didn't

24:31.442 --> 24:34.752
just encourage non-importation.

24:34.750 --> 24:38.140
It actually had a number of
other impacts on the colonies as

24:38.144 --> 24:41.544
a whole and on sort of what's
developing in the colonies.

24:41.538 --> 24:45.398
First, by creating the
Continental Association and

24:45.404 --> 24:49.984
ensuring that it was going to
have a really widespread,

24:49.980 --> 24:52.800
localized influence,
the Continental Congress

24:52.801 --> 24:56.711
essentially created a localized
government structure that down

24:56.713 --> 25:00.243
the road would be vital in
organizing the war effort and

25:00.241 --> 25:03.001
maintaining order throughout the
war.

25:03.000 --> 25:06.860
So they're creating kind of a
network--just by declaring that

25:06.864 --> 25:10.024
this exists--that goes
throughout the colonies.

25:10.019 --> 25:14.639
Second, in the process of doing
that the Association brought

25:14.636 --> 25:19.406
literally thousands of people
into the war effort as committee

25:19.410 --> 25:20.350
members.

25:20.348 --> 25:25.298
Third, although the Continental
Congress was an unofficial

25:25.299 --> 25:29.469
congress that didn't have any
real authority,

25:29.470 --> 25:33.380
by creating the Continental
Association it basically passed

25:33.380 --> 25:37.560
a piece of legislation that
applied throughout the colonies.

25:37.558 --> 25:40.898
Committees of Inspection
considered themselves the

25:40.902 --> 25:44.452
enforcement agencies of the
Continental Congress,

25:44.450 --> 25:47.850
not enforcement agencies
of their local colonial

25:47.846 --> 25:51.586
legislature,
and in some colonies committees

25:51.586 --> 25:55.036
actually created--
I'm sorry--communities actually

25:55.038 --> 25:57.728
created Committees of Inspection
on their own,

25:57.730 --> 26:00.470
without even waiting for their
own colonial legislature to ask

26:00.470 --> 26:02.630
them,
or even for it to meet.

26:02.630 --> 26:06.670
They just knew that this was
happening and communities in and

26:06.667 --> 26:10.637
of themselves created their own
Committees of Inspection.

26:10.640 --> 26:13.810
And then fourth,
over time as the colonies moved

26:13.813 --> 26:17.263
into war and as colonial
governments really began to

26:17.256 --> 26:19.886
falter and run into
complications--

26:19.890 --> 26:22.910
as the crisis really
magnified--these Committees of

26:22.911 --> 26:26.361
Inspection were able to step
into the void and assert some

26:26.355 --> 26:31.195
kind of centralized organized--
hopefully--authority.

26:31.200 --> 26:31.610
Okay.

26:31.605 --> 26:36.795
So the Continental Association
went into effect and this time,

26:36.798 --> 26:39.618
more than any of the previous
attempts at non-importation,

26:39.618 --> 26:42.878
people really are beginning to
realize that there's a crisis at

26:42.878 --> 26:45.248
hand,
so more people complied with

26:45.247 --> 26:47.887
non-importation now than ever
before.

26:47.890 --> 26:51.790
And at times before it had been
successful, but now we actually

26:51.788 --> 26:54.868
reach a new high of people
complying with this.

26:54.868 --> 26:59.718
And just one example of this:
In 1774, New York imported

26:59.721 --> 27:04.751
roughly 437,000 pounds sterling
worth of British goods.

27:04.750 --> 27:07.090
Okay, 437 pounds sterling.

27:07.088 --> 27:10.298
One year later,
1775, in New York this number

27:10.299 --> 27:13.729
had dropped to roughly 1,000
pounds sterling.

27:13.730 --> 27:15.960
Okay. That's huge. Right?

27:15.960 --> 27:19.350
That's real compliance with
non-importation.

27:19.348 --> 27:24.698
And the Congress' final act was
to agree to meet the following

27:24.704 --> 27:29.364
spring in May of 1775 if their
grievances had not been

27:29.358 --> 27:31.728
addressed by that time.

27:31.730 --> 27:33.640
So basically they conclude by
saying, 'Okay.

27:33.640 --> 27:36.060
We're going to now give Britain
time to hear what we've

27:36.061 --> 27:38.711
said--the several months it's
going to take it to get across

27:38.708 --> 27:39.828
the ocean to England.

27:39.828 --> 27:41.988
They can respond and take
several months to communicate

27:41.994 --> 27:43.724
back with us and we'll see what
happens,

27:43.720 --> 27:47.090
and if we haven't been
addressed we will have another

27:47.090 --> 27:49.620
continental congress in May of
1775.'

27:49.618 --> 27:53.238
Now as you can imagine,
the adjournment of the First

27:53.242 --> 27:57.152
Continental Congress left
relations between the colonies

27:57.150 --> 28:01.200
and the mother country in kind
of a precarious state.

28:01.200 --> 28:04.930
The Congress and its activities
also made it increasingly

28:04.929 --> 28:08.859
obvious that there were two
sides forming on the question of

28:08.858 --> 28:12.648
the proper workings of the
imperial system and how best to

28:12.654 --> 28:15.124
respond to the ongoing problem.

28:15.118 --> 28:18.968
Now all along,
there had been people who had

28:18.965 --> 28:23.165
more sympathy towards the Crown
than others,

28:23.170 --> 28:26.800
people like Massachusetts
governor Thomas Hutchinson--

28:26.798 --> 28:30.818
he is now Governor--or like the
people throughout the colonies

28:30.817 --> 28:34.107
who accepted the position of
stamp distributor,

28:34.109 --> 28:36.039
for example.

28:36.038 --> 28:40.298
By late 1774 and 1775,
as people really began to take

28:40.295 --> 28:44.875
sides and warfare began to seem
at least possible to some

28:44.876 --> 28:47.686
people,
the people who were sympathetic

28:47.688 --> 28:51.048
to the British administration
began to face some difficult

28:51.050 --> 28:51.700
choices.

28:51.700 --> 28:55.900
Known at this point as the
King's Friends or the Friends of

28:55.904 --> 28:59.484
Government,
they began to find it more and

28:59.477 --> 29:03.907
more difficult if not impossible
to remain neutral.

29:03.910 --> 29:06.860
Thousands of people were
becoming involved in the war

29:06.858 --> 29:07.368
effort.

29:07.368 --> 29:09.708
Troops, which of course in
Boston they called,

29:09.710 --> 29:12.300
quote, "military
executioners"--

29:12.298 --> 29:15.308
They had a real flair for
propaganda in Boston.

29:15.308 --> 29:18.828
Troops, whether you called them
military executioners or not,

29:18.827 --> 29:21.817
were being sent to America in
increasing numbers.

29:21.818 --> 29:24.638
So people were beginning to
take sides,

29:24.640 --> 29:28.230
and those who felt loyal to the
British government had to decide

29:28.226 --> 29:31.706
on a course of action,
because to not declare your

29:31.712 --> 29:35.922
loyalty to the protesting
colonists was often as good as

29:35.916 --> 29:38.436
declaring your enmity to them.

29:38.440 --> 29:41.420
Many Loyalists would soon
declare with some justification

29:41.420 --> 29:43.550
that by forcing people to sign
oaths--

29:43.548 --> 29:46.418
like, they were loyal to the
Patriot cause,

29:46.420 --> 29:49.420
by inspecting people's
purchases to see if they were

29:49.424 --> 29:53.044
complying with non-importation--
that the Continental

29:53.044 --> 29:57.734
Association was supposedly
fighting for American liberty by

29:57.726 --> 30:00.306
curbing individual liberties.

30:00.308 --> 30:02.878
As one Loyalist wrote,
the only liberty that the

30:02.883 --> 30:06.013
Patriots wanted was the liberty,
quote, "of knocking out

30:06.011 --> 30:08.571
any Man's Brains that dares
presume to speak his Mind freely

30:08.567 --> 30:10.037
upon the present Contest."

30:10.038 --> 30:10.308
Okay.

30:10.309 --> 30:13.119
These are people who are
beginning to feel irked that

30:13.121 --> 30:16.041
there seems to be a majority
building in some way,

30:16.038 --> 30:18.858
certainly a loud group of
people expressing anger and

30:18.857 --> 30:21.907
resentment and resistance,
and if you don't agree,

30:21.910 --> 30:25.130
people are beginning to feel
somewhat threatened.

30:25.130 --> 30:28.520
Now traditionally these
Loyalists have often been

30:28.523 --> 30:32.133
depicted as timid or
conservative men who maybe were

30:32.131 --> 30:34.961
too afraid to side with the
rebels,

30:34.960 --> 30:37.180
maybe were afraid to fight the
system,

30:37.180 --> 30:41.010
or were afraid of losing their
wealth or status,

30:41.009 --> 30:43.649
but obviously the truth is more
complex than that.

30:43.650 --> 30:48.480
Choosing to remain loyal to the
Crown in the midst of a building

30:48.478 --> 30:51.848
resistant movement was not an
easy choice.

30:51.848 --> 30:55.748
And ultimately it really
required in some cases some

30:55.751 --> 30:58.861
degree of bravery,
because it really did put your

30:58.858 --> 31:00.368
livelihood,
your property,

31:00.365 --> 31:03.665
and even sometimes your
physical safety at risk because

31:03.670 --> 31:07.400
it potentially forced you to put
yourself on the opposing side

31:07.401 --> 31:11.071
from your friends,
sometimes even your family.

31:11.068 --> 31:13.198
Actually, a couple
of--Actually,

31:13.203 --> 31:17.793
a good number of years ago,
I had someone write a senior

31:17.788 --> 31:23.008
essay with me and he found a
diary from roughly this period

31:23.009 --> 31:26.639
of a person whose family--
he was from New England and I

31:26.638 --> 31:27.868
don't remember where he was
from--

31:27.868 --> 31:32.208
his family divided over what to
do.

31:32.210 --> 31:34.880
And half of the family felt
like they wanted to remain loyal

31:34.884 --> 31:37.244
to the Crown and half didn't,
and the diary is really

31:37.243 --> 31:37.973
fascinating.

31:37.970 --> 31:40.280
It just shows this person
trying to figure out what to do

31:40.284 --> 31:42.684
and no matter what he does,
actually, members of his family

31:42.681 --> 31:43.881
are going to cut him off.

31:43.880 --> 31:46.840
And it really--It was a good
senior essay if I do say so

31:46.840 --> 31:48.920
myself--
but it also was really a

31:48.923 --> 31:52.593
fascinating diary because it
just really showed one family

31:52.587 --> 31:55.607
being just torn apart by
increasingly passionate

31:55.609 --> 31:59.399
political ideas but equally
important by just having to take

31:59.404 --> 32:03.524
a stand in a community that's
swaying one way or another.

32:03.519 --> 32:07.479
And you can see what I'm
talking about.

32:07.480 --> 32:09.740
Actually, it's another diary
and this one I have a quote from

32:09.739 --> 32:12.109
as opposed to the random senior
essay I'm remembering from years

32:12.111 --> 32:12.451
past.

32:12.450 --> 32:15.820
There's a diary of a fellow
named Samuel Curwen.

32:15.818 --> 32:19.258
He did not describe himself as
a Loyalist.

32:19.259 --> 32:21.039
He described himself as a,
quote, "moderate

32:21.038 --> 32:22.768
man"--
and I'm going to come back to

32:22.769 --> 32:24.469
that too,
that Loyalist and moderate are

32:24.471 --> 32:27.431
not always the same thing--
but he described himself as a

32:27.428 --> 32:30.608
moderate man and he said that
until 1775 he lived in

32:30.608 --> 32:31.668
Massachusetts.

32:31.670 --> 32:35.460
Obviously, by 1775 it would be
difficult to be a moderate man,

32:35.460 --> 32:41.050
and in 1775 after Lexington and
Concord,

32:41.048 --> 32:45.368
Curwen became actually fearful
for his life in that radical

32:45.368 --> 32:46.038
colony.

32:46.038 --> 32:48.518
So as he put it,
"I left my late peaceful

32:48.517 --> 32:51.377
home (in my sixtieth
year)," so he's been living

32:51.381 --> 32:54.741
there for 60 years "in
search of personal security,

32:54.740 --> 32:57.110
and those rights which by the
laws of God,

32:57.108 --> 32:59.738
I ought to have enjoyed
undisturbed there."

32:59.740 --> 33:02.670
So he's a moderate and he feels
actually threatened in

33:02.670 --> 33:05.380
Massachusetts and he decides he
needs to move,

33:05.380 --> 33:08.400
so he heads to Philadelphia
hoping,

33:08.400 --> 33:10.680
as he put it,
"to find an asylum amongst

33:10.678 --> 33:12.178
Quakers and Dutchmen."

33:12.180 --> 33:15.340
So he's actually seeking out a
population of people who maybe

33:15.339 --> 33:18.659
aren't going to be as radical as
the people he's coming from.

33:18.660 --> 33:21.960
And he says in his diary that
when he arrived in Philadelphia

33:21.957 --> 33:25.197
a friend came to meet his boat
at the dock and this friend's

33:25.200 --> 33:27.540
opening remark--
so the first thing that the

33:27.542 --> 33:30.062
friend said to him--
was, "We will protect you,

33:30.058 --> 33:32.878
though you're a Tory,"
and this guy said,

33:32.880 --> 33:35.780
it "embarrassed me not a
little."

33:35.779 --> 33:35.979
Okay.

33:35.977 --> 33:38.347
So he basically feels like--and
he says this at one point--he

33:38.347 --> 33:39.847
feels like he has the mark of
Cain.

33:39.848 --> 33:42.228
No matter where he goes people
are sort of like:

33:42.230 --> 33:43.750
'oh, you're a Tory,
are you?

33:43.750 --> 33:45.900
Well, we'll protect you because
we like you.'

33:45.900 --> 33:48.790
And he said he found it very
difficult to find a place to

33:48.789 --> 33:51.159
stay, to find a boarding house
in Philadelphia,

33:51.163 --> 33:53.593
because people just refused to
take him in.

33:53.588 --> 33:56.558
As he put it,
"so many refused as made

33:56.556 --> 33:59.226
it fearful whether,
like Cain, I had not a

33:59.227 --> 34:02.167
discouraging mark upon me,
or a strong feature of

34:02.165 --> 34:04.735
Toryism"--
like somehow people are looking

34:04.737 --> 34:06.487
at me and saying I look like a
Tory?

34:06.490 --> 34:09.160
Like, how was it that they
weren't giving me any place to

34:09.155 --> 34:09.485
stay?

34:09.489 --> 34:13.389
So that's one person's diary,
but again it shows you how this

34:13.391 --> 34:16.451
person felt threatened and then
this person,

34:16.449 --> 34:19.409
even having moved to feel
safer, ends up in Philadelphia

34:19.414 --> 34:22.334
and still feels as though he's
certainly outside of the

34:22.326 --> 34:25.336
majority and not having an easy
time of it even among his

34:25.344 --> 34:26.104
friends.

34:26.099 --> 34:31.039
So clearly choosing to remain
loyal to the Crown,

34:31.039 --> 34:34.729
or even like Curwen just
choosing to be moderate in your

34:34.730 --> 34:37.230
principles,
could be a really difficult

34:37.233 --> 34:39.903
choice with some pretty serious
consequences.

34:39.900 --> 34:44.610
Now--there were many reasons
why one might choose to remain

34:44.605 --> 34:47.765
loyal to the Crown or to be
moderate.

34:47.768 --> 34:50.878
And in a way just sort of using
the term "Loyalist"

34:50.882 --> 34:53.742
and throwing it around doesn't
do the complexity of this

34:53.735 --> 34:56.145
justice,
because there were any number

34:56.146 --> 34:59.616
of reasons why you might not
want to go along with colonial

34:59.621 --> 35:00.461
resistance.

35:00.460 --> 35:04.080
Some people maybe were really
aggressively loyal to the Crown.

35:04.079 --> 35:07.539
Maybe that was where their
actions were coming from.

35:07.539 --> 35:10.629
Maybe some people just were not
excited about the idea of

35:10.632 --> 35:13.452
independence and war,
and maybe that would have been

35:13.449 --> 35:14.829
their breaking point.

35:14.829 --> 35:17.719
Some, like the Quakers,
may have been just trying to

35:17.715 --> 35:20.825
remain neutral or pacifist,
which, as you've just heard,

35:20.826 --> 35:22.916
could be a difficult thing to
do.

35:22.920 --> 35:27.010
And some, probably like this
Curwen, might have just wanted

35:27.012 --> 35:31.032
to be aloof from the whole
matter and--again--did not find

35:31.034 --> 35:32.804
that very easy to do.

35:32.800 --> 35:36.500
After the war,
Dr. Benjamin Rush--

35:36.500 --> 35:39.580
who, as you'll hear in this
little quote,

35:39.579 --> 35:41.769
was obviously supportive of
colonial resistance--

35:41.768 --> 35:45.678
explained that to him there had
been four different kinds of

35:45.681 --> 35:47.671
Torys during the Revolution.

35:47.670 --> 35:47.940
Okay.

35:47.936 --> 35:49.796
This is Rush's category of
Tories.

35:49.800 --> 35:51.810
Quote: "There were...

35:51.809 --> 35:55.079
Furious Tories who had recourse
to violence and even to

35:55.079 --> 35:56.049
arms...."

35:56.050 --> 35:59.700
There were "Writing and
talking Tories"--which I

35:59.699 --> 36:02.319
always think:
as opposed to the illiterate

36:02.324 --> 36:03.354
mute Tories?

36:03.349 --> 36:05.119
[laughter]
And obviously he's saying,

36:05.119 --> 36:07.529
the ones who were really loud,
okay, but still.

36:07.530 --> 36:10.980
So there are furious Tories,
writing and talking Tories,

36:10.980 --> 36:13.500
"Silent but busy
Tories" who are

36:13.501 --> 36:17.071
"disseminating Tory
pamphlets and newspapers and...

36:17.070 --> 36:19.610
circulating intelligence,"
and then number four:

36:19.610 --> 36:21.710
"Peaceable and
conscientious Tories who

36:21.713 --> 36:24.203
patiently submitted to the
measures of the governing

36:24.204 --> 36:26.334
powers,
and who showed nearly equal

36:26.329 --> 36:29.689
kindness to the distress of both
parties during the war."

36:29.690 --> 36:31.560
This is Rush's way of looking
at things,

36:31.559 --> 36:35.109
and clearly that's his own
little eccentric point of view,

36:35.110 --> 36:38.510
but let's talk for a minute
here about what we're talking

36:38.514 --> 36:41.314
about in the way of numbers,
as far as how many Loyalists

36:41.309 --> 36:43.469
are there,
what are we talking about

36:43.474 --> 36:45.254
roughly percentage-wise.

36:45.250 --> 36:49.290
Historians estimate that
roughly fifteen to twenty

36:49.289 --> 36:53.989
percent of white males were
Loyalist by the war's end,

36:53.989 --> 36:55.519
and in this sense,
when I'm using the word

36:55.518 --> 36:56.598
"Loyalist"
here,

36:56.599 --> 37:00.389
I'm actually meaning people who
did something overt to support

37:00.393 --> 37:04.403
the Crown during the Revolution,
like signing addresses,

37:04.402 --> 37:08.072
bearing arms against the
continental troops,

37:08.070 --> 37:10.480
doing business with the British
army,

37:10.480 --> 37:14.220
seeking military protection
from the British army or going

37:14.224 --> 37:15.084
into exile.

37:15.079 --> 37:18.189
So just people who were doing
those activities:

37:18.186 --> 37:21.086
fifteen to twenty percent of
white males.

37:21.090 --> 37:25.380
When you add to that percentage
those who just wanted to avoid

37:25.378 --> 37:29.528
involving themselves in the
struggle you end up with roughly

37:29.528 --> 37:34.028
half of the white male colonists
not falling into the category of

37:34.030 --> 37:36.140
"Patriot"
or,

37:36.139 --> 37:38.189
if you use a term that the
Loyalists would have used,

37:38.190 --> 37:39.460
"rebel."

37:39.460 --> 37:42.580
So all in all,
only about half of the white

37:42.579 --> 37:46.889
male population actively
supported colonial resistance,

37:46.889 --> 37:50.319
and at different times of the
war, depending on the immediate

37:50.318 --> 37:52.928
circumstances,
obviously people changed their

37:52.934 --> 37:53.324
views.

37:53.320 --> 37:58.510
Now there were any number of
reasons to stay loyal to the

37:58.505 --> 38:01.465
Crown,
and I'm guessing--certainly if

38:01.465 --> 38:05.575
I hadn't studied this time
period I would assume that there

38:05.579 --> 38:09.969
is this stereotypical image of
the Tory who one would assume is

38:09.974 --> 38:12.744
this sort of aristocratic
person,

38:12.739 --> 38:16.189
this really rich person in a
very fancy wig with very fancy

38:16.193 --> 38:18.203
clothes,
taking snuff and doing a

38:18.199 --> 38:21.519
variety of other aristocratic
eighteenth-century gentry kind

38:21.518 --> 38:24.218
of things and sort of sneering
at the rebels.

38:24.219 --> 38:26.899
I think there's sort of some
stereotype we have in our brain

38:26.898 --> 38:29.728
about who Tories are,
but as a matter of fact they

38:29.733 --> 38:33.723
were--some Tories fit into that
category but certainly not all.

38:33.719 --> 38:37.739
Wealth and poverty,
high status and low,

38:37.739 --> 38:42.109
every kind of ethnicity could
be found on both sides of the

38:42.106 --> 38:44.726
crisis,
and from colony to colony

38:44.731 --> 38:49.151
different kinds of people chose
different sides depending on

38:49.152 --> 38:51.102
regional circumstances.

38:51.099 --> 38:55.019
So for example:
In New York a lot of the landed

38:55.018 --> 38:57.658
gentry tended to be Loyalist.

38:57.659 --> 39:00.679
In Virginia,
the landed gentry tended to not

39:00.677 --> 39:01.657
be Loyalist.

39:01.659 --> 39:05.369
In Massachusetts,
small farmers tended to be

39:05.369 --> 39:06.319
Patriots.

39:06.320 --> 39:10.680
In New York and North Carolina
the--or at least the up-country

39:10.684 --> 39:15.124
of North Carolina--small farmers
did not necessarily tend to be

39:15.119 --> 39:16.049
Patriots.

39:16.050 --> 39:18.200
So it obviously varied region
by region, depending on local

39:18.197 --> 39:18.787
circumstances.

39:18.789 --> 39:23.259
In general terms--In very
general terms,

39:23.260 --> 39:27.750
you could say that Loyalism was
stronger in the middle states

39:27.753 --> 39:32.403
than in New England and stronger
in the lower South than in the

39:32.396 --> 39:35.446
upper South,
and very strong particularly in

39:35.447 --> 39:37.547
New York,
which the British ended up

39:37.552 --> 39:39.652
holding throughout most of the
war,

39:39.650 --> 39:45.060
and weakest in Massachusetts,
Virginia and Connecticut.

39:45.059 --> 39:47.059
Connecticut stood up.

39:47.059 --> 39:50.619
But there's a reason for that
because those are among the

39:50.619 --> 39:54.499
oldest colonies with a very long
tradition of self-government,

39:54.498 --> 39:56.468
aggressive self-government.

39:56.469 --> 39:59.729
Scholars who have studied
Loyalists have noted that there

39:59.730 --> 40:03.160
seemed to be several types of
people who ended up being more

40:03.164 --> 40:04.974
likely to become Loyalists.

40:04.969 --> 40:09.139
One likely Loyalist--and this
won't be surprising--

40:09.139 --> 40:12.199
would have been people who were
connected with the British

40:12.195 --> 40:15.085
government by some kind of an
official appointment,

40:15.090 --> 40:18.340
or were related to somebody who
had an official royal

40:18.342 --> 40:19.222
appointment.

40:19.219 --> 40:23.139
For these people remaining
loyal was not necessarily due to

40:23.135 --> 40:25.675
self-interested reasons,
although certainly

40:25.675 --> 40:27.305
self-interest could have played
a part,

40:27.309 --> 40:30.709
but as important loyal
officeholders or people related

40:30.713 --> 40:34.763
to them had closer contact with
the British government than most

40:34.759 --> 40:37.549
others,
and thus they were better able

40:37.554 --> 40:40.394
to see the logic of politics in
England,

40:40.389 --> 40:44.929
so they had more reason to be
skeptical of claims about a

40:44.929 --> 40:49.549
conspiracy afoot in England to
destroy colonial rights.

40:49.550 --> 40:51.420
For example,
Thomas Hutchison up in

40:51.420 --> 40:54.500
Massachusetts was honestly
baffled by the accusation that

40:54.501 --> 40:57.311
there was a plot against
colonial liberties and that

40:57.309 --> 40:59.069
somehow he was part of it.

40:59.070 --> 41:02.040
He knew that he personally
wasn't conspiring against the

41:02.041 --> 41:03.531
colonies,
so he wasn't quite sure what

41:03.530 --> 41:06.080
people were talking about,
and because of that he had good

41:06.077 --> 41:08.997
reason to doubt the enterprise
of what was going on.

41:09.000 --> 41:12.110
So that's one potential
Loyalist.

41:12.110 --> 41:16.190
A second kind of person who
tended to become a Loyalist

41:16.190 --> 41:18.550
was--
again logically enough--people

41:18.550 --> 41:21.420
who were in a religious or
cultural minority,

41:21.420 --> 41:24.540
and who thus already felt a
little defensive and not

41:24.539 --> 41:27.719
necessarily trusting in the whim
of the majority--

41:27.719 --> 41:30.779
or the whim of the angry,
resistant majority.

41:30.780 --> 41:34.640
And I'm going to go into this
in more detail in a future

41:34.637 --> 41:37.197
lecture,
but for logical reasons a good

41:37.202 --> 41:40.732
many African-American slaves
ended up becoming Loyalists for

41:40.726 --> 41:44.066
good reason having to do with
the chance of earning their

41:44.072 --> 41:44.852
freedom.

41:44.849 --> 41:48.109
So that's a second kind.

41:48.110 --> 41:51.380
A third kind of Loyalist
consisted of people who lived

41:51.376 --> 41:54.696
out in the hinterlands in the
backcountry away from the

41:54.704 --> 41:56.004
eastern seaboard.

41:56.000 --> 41:58.770
And this is for a couple of
reasons,

41:58.768 --> 42:01.698
but one of the main ones is,
if you think about it the main

42:01.697 --> 42:04.627
vehicle or one of the main
vehicles for radical ideas would

42:04.626 --> 42:05.886
have been newspapers.

42:05.889 --> 42:10.699
And newspapers largely
circulated in large port cities.

42:10.699 --> 42:12.709
And I've quoted already a
number of times from the

42:12.711 --> 42:14.681
Boston Gazette,
which would have been hard

42:14.682 --> 42:16.452
to get out in the hinterland
somewhere.

42:16.449 --> 42:18.119
Tories called the Boston
Gazette--

42:18.119 --> 42:20.049
That's where Samuel Adams
wrote a lot of his things--

42:20.050 --> 42:22.550
Tories called the Boston
Gazette the "Weekly

42:22.547 --> 42:23.407
Dung Barge."

42:23.409 --> 42:25.699
[laughs]
I think everybody just wins

42:25.702 --> 42:27.672
here in the propaganda game.

42:27.670 --> 42:30.760
It's equally impressive on all
sides in the propaganda game.

42:30.760 --> 42:33.950
People out in the frontier in
Virginia or the Carolinas who

42:33.954 --> 42:37.044
didn't have a lot of access to
newspapers might have been

42:37.039 --> 42:40.509
harder to convince of a great
plot against their liberties.

42:40.510 --> 42:42.830
As one historian wrote,
"Not having been exposed

42:42.833 --> 42:45.073
to the 'disease,' how could they
catch it?"

42:45.070 --> 42:48.450
None of these people had a
particular reason to be swept up

42:48.445 --> 42:51.755
in the resistance movement,
and they had reasons to resist

42:51.762 --> 42:52.172
it.

42:52.170 --> 42:56.830
By 1774, all of these
people--royal officeholders,

42:56.829 --> 42:59.629
cultural or religious
minorities, people living out on

42:59.632 --> 43:02.072
the frontier--
were conscious minorities,

43:02.072 --> 43:04.772
people who felt either weak or
threatened,

43:04.768 --> 43:08.318
particularly considering raging
events in cities along the

43:08.315 --> 43:08.995
seaboard.

43:09.000 --> 43:11.080
So in a way,
you could say that many

43:11.083 --> 43:14.533
Loyalists were simply more
afraid of the rebelling colonies

43:14.534 --> 43:16.444
than they were of the Crown.

43:16.440 --> 43:19.900
Almost all of them had
interests that they felt needed

43:19.900 --> 43:22.840
protection from a raging
American majority.

43:22.840 --> 43:25.670
Now these Loyalists did not
necessarily have vast

43:25.672 --> 43:29.102
ideological differences from
people who came to be known as

43:29.096 --> 43:32.026
the American Patriots,
but they might have,

43:32.032 --> 43:35.932
and in fact some Loyalists
actually believed precisely what

43:35.927 --> 43:38.207
the rebels believed in reverse.

43:38.210 --> 43:41.170
So in the same way that the
colonists thought there was this

43:41.170 --> 43:44.030
plot forming in Parliament to
curb colonial liberties,

43:44.030 --> 43:47.810
some Loyalists saw a plot
forming among radical colonists

43:47.813 --> 43:51.123
who were falsely claiming to
represent the people.

43:51.123 --> 43:51.803
Right?

43:51.800 --> 43:53.150
That makes perfect sense.

43:53.150 --> 43:56.700
Many of these Loyalists did not
part with the colonial majority

43:56.704 --> 43:58.944
until well into the imperial
crisis,

43:58.940 --> 44:00.420
and for many,
as we'll see,

44:00.418 --> 44:03.148
it's not until independence
becomes probable,

44:03.150 --> 44:05.220
and when real,
actual separation from the

44:05.224 --> 44:08.744
mother country is at hand,
that they felt compelled to

44:08.737 --> 44:13.197
declare their loyalty to the
Crown and actually break away.

44:13.199 --> 44:16.009
This was actually part of the
agony of the Revolution,

44:16.014 --> 44:19.314
the fact that many people just
weren't sure of what they should

44:19.307 --> 44:19.677
do.

44:19.679 --> 44:21.079
They weren't sure how they felt
about the crisis.

44:21.079 --> 44:22.989
They weren't sure what side to
take.

44:22.989 --> 44:25.239
They weren't sure that they
wanted to take a side.

44:25.239 --> 44:27.519
They weren't sure what would
happen if they did.

44:27.518 --> 44:31.738
And on all sides people still
cared about the colonies.

44:31.739 --> 44:35.319
They just had different visions
about the right course of

44:35.320 --> 44:37.490
action--
and people had to just make

44:37.487 --> 44:40.987
these sorts of decisions about
their loyalties on an individual

44:40.994 --> 44:43.434
level,
and obviously there were many

44:43.434 --> 44:46.994
different levels of loyalty to
the British government.

44:46.989 --> 44:49.069
So I suppose what I'm saying
here--I'll wrap it up here.

44:49.070 --> 44:53.530
In a sense, it's really easy to
analyze and pass judgment on the

44:53.525 --> 44:57.435
decision to become a Loyalist,
but I think it's just as easy

44:57.438 --> 45:00.538
to analyze and pass judgment on
the decision to resist the

45:00.539 --> 45:01.029
Crown.

45:01.030 --> 45:04.380
I think one way or another,
people were evaluating what was

45:04.376 --> 45:05.066
happening.

45:05.070 --> 45:08.390
People were thinking about what
they thought the proper course

45:08.385 --> 45:11.475
of action should be and then
making individual choices for

45:11.481 --> 45:13.981
any number of reasons,
some of them ideological,

45:13.980 --> 45:16.180
some of them personal,
having to do with your family,

45:16.182 --> 45:17.642
having to do with your
livelihood,

45:17.639 --> 45:19.879
having to do with your safety
and security.

45:19.880 --> 45:25.430
So one way or another,
making this decision was kind

45:25.431 --> 45:27.611
of an extreme act.

45:27.610 --> 45:31.660
And the period that we're now
at in this course--1774,1775--is

45:31.659 --> 45:35.509
precisely when those sorts of
decisions have to be made.

45:35.510 --> 45:38.200
We'll be talking about
Common Sense on Thursday,

45:38.197 --> 45:40.937
which does a lot towards
pushing some people into making

45:40.936 --> 45:42.426
a pretty radical decision.

45:42.429 --> 45:44.919
I will see you on Thursday.

45:44.920 --> 45:48.800
Those of you did not turn in
your papers, turn them in to

45:48.797 --> 45:49.557
your T.F.

45:49.559 --> 45:54.999