The Center for the Teaching of American History

Social and Political Change in the 19th Century

The U.S. and the World in the 20th Century

American Traitors or British Patriots?
Colonists Fight the British and Each Other

A Documents Based Question by Greg O'Brien
History 530a, Fall 2003

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Directions: Part I: Short Answers

The following questions are based on the documents provided. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of the document and the author's point of view.

Read each question carefully. Consider what you already know about this topic.

Read each document carefully. Underline key words and phrases that address the document based question. Documents may be excerpts of longer passages.

Answer the question that follows each document with full sentences.

Directions: Part II: Essay

Using the documents provided as well as your own knowledge of history, discuss the different attitudes or positions that different Americans took toward the British and towards other Americans during the revolutionary era. Discuss the differences and similarities between the patriots and the loyalists.

Historical context:

The American Revolution was not only a war between the American colonists and the British; it was also a war that pitted Americans against each other. Many loyalists (colonists who remained loyal to the Crown and Government of England) fought on the side of the British and were called Tories. Though all thirteen colonies did sign the Declaration of Independence, the decision among colonists to go to war was not unanimous. Many colonists, though against British policies, favored reconciliation with England over war.

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