The Loyalist Meets the Patriot

Place yourself in New England in early 1775, on the eve of the American Revolution. Perhaps you're in a tavern or out on the street. You hear two people in a heated conversation--an argument, really--concerning the appropriate way for the colonies to respond to the current situation they're facing. One is clearly a Patriot and the other is definitely a Loyalist. Since you're an aspiring newspaper reporter (and kind of nosy, too), you decide to write down their dialogue word for word.

Before getting started on the dialogue, write at least five words in each column below to indicate your impressions of the Loyalists and the Patriots. These words should relate to your understanding of each group's political viewpoint and to your own opinion about that viewpoint.

Loyalist	Patriot

Visit some or all of the Web sites on the list below to find out about the positions of the Loyalists versus the Patriots, the events leading up to the Revolution, and daily life in the colonies. As you're browsing the sites, answer the questions listed below.
The Loyalists
- The War of Independence has been called a civil war within a civil war. Were the Patriots justified in abusing the Loyalists and expelling them?:
- http://canadianheritage.org/books/canada4.htm
- The White Loyalists of Williamsburg:
  http://research.history.org/Historical_Research/Research_Themes/ThemeRevolution/Loyalist.cfm
- The Canadian Military Heritage Project:
  http://www.rootsweb.com/~canmil/uel/indexloy.htm
- Unite or Die: The Revolution as Civil War:
  http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/seminar/unit1/part3.html
The Patriots and General American Revolution Sites
- The History Place--American Revolution:
  http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/index.html (timelines of the Revolution)
- Words and Deeds in American History:
  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/mcchtml/corhome.html (primary source documents)
- Patrick Henry's "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" Speech:
  http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.html
- Thomas Jefferson Online Resources:
  http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson
Life in the Colonies
- Daily Life in the Colonies:
  http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/
Answer these questions as you browse the sites:
1. What did the Loyalists want to see happen?
2. What did the Loyalists fear about a war with Britain? What were their concerns?
3. Did the Loyalists completely disagree with the Patriots' opposition to the British imposition of taxes in the colonies?
4. How did the Loyalists feel about the way they were treated by the Patriots?
5. Where did the Loyalists go to get away from the Patriots?
6. What would the Loyalists have said about Common Sense?
7. What were the main arguments of the Patriots?
8. What would the Patriots have said about Common Sense?
- Now write your dialogue, following these guidelines:
  - It should involve two characters: one Loyalist and one Patriot.
  - Each character should clearly express his or her point of view about the current situation between the colonies and the British. They can be arguing vehemently or having a more civilized discussion, as long as they're clearly talking to each other rather than delivering individual monologues.
  - Each character should talk for about the same amount of time.
  - You should incorporate information from the Web sites into each character's statements and into the setting (i.e., where they are, what they're doing, what their daily life is like). Try to incorporate a few statements indicating aspects of colonial daily life.
  - Unless your teacher tells you otherwise, the written dialogue should be at least three pages long, single spaced (on notebook paper).

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