Loyalists vs. Patriots

Chris Matthews uses the term “Loyalists” for people supporting Obama. In the Divided States of America, that would make people against Obama patriots.

From USHistory.org:

Who will you support? The radical Americans or the British? Fact is, it’s not an easy decision. Not only will your way of life be drastically affected, but whomever you choose to side with will make you instant enemies.

Any full assessment of the American Revolution must try to understand the place of LOYALISTS, those Americans who remained faithful to the British Empire during the war.

Although Loyalists were steadfast in their commitment to remain within the British Empire, it was a very hard decision to make and to stick to during the Revolution. Even before the war started, a group of Philadelphia QUAKERS were arrested and imprisoned in Virginia because of their perceived support of the British. The Patriots were not a tolerant group, and Loyalists suffered regular harassment, had their property seized, or were subject to personal attacks.

The process of “TAR AND FEATHERING,” for example, was brutally violent. Stripped of clothes, covered with hot tar, and splattered with feathers, the victim was then forced to parade about in public. Unless the British Army was close at hand to protect Loyalists, they often suffered bad treatment from Patriots and often had to flee their own homes. About one-in-six Americans was an active Loyalist during the Revolution, and that number undoubtedly would have been higher if the Patriots hadn’t been so successful in threatening and punishing people who made their Loyalist sympathies known in public.

So the lines are now drawn even more clearly. Those who support King Obama and those who are willing to stand up for the rule of law and Liberty.

David DeGerolamo