I've been thinking about it, and I still can't decide whether I would be a Loyalist or a Patriot if I had lived in the Colonies in the days leading up to the Revolution. I mean, that's one of the curses of history. Hindsight is 20/20 and the more distant the past becomes, the more black and white those tricky ethical questions seem.
For example, let's look at the Revolution. There was no Gallup poll to determine George III's approval rating, but the general consensus seems to set the number of Loyalists at about fifteen or twenty percent of the population. Though I imagine there were a good many more who tried to be quiet about it. I've been thinking this week, who were the bad guys in the war? Yes, King George was crazy, but not evil. The Redcoats were just doing their jobs; you can't really blame them. For your average colonist, life under the Crown wasn't too shabby. What about the tax on tea? Well, the colonists boycotted English tea; they bought it from the Dutch. Dutch tea was significantly more expensive than British tea, even with the added tax. It certainly seemed more practical to be loyal to King and Crown.
And then there was the fact that our Founding Fathers were traitors. "Traitor" is such a loaded word. Water Washington a hero or a traitor who needed to be drawn and quartered? I mean, nowadays we look at these illustrious men and see them in the context of their post-war careers. But back then it would be tempting to think "Who the hell do these guys think they are?" They were really just asking for it, taking on the most powerful nation in the world. I wouldn't fault anybody for assuming that little rebellion thing was never going to come to fruition. And even after it started, nobody would ever expect it to be last for years, let alone be successful.
I mean, what an underdog. We should not have won; it must have seemed so futile to many living through it. The story of our country's birth is a damn good one. I'm so proud that our forefathers (and mothers) had the courage to face Goliath. I want to say that I'd have been a Patriot through and through, and I think in my conscience I would have supported the American cause. But I don't know if I would have had the courage to shout it from the rooftops as some did. There would have been so much to lose.
I'd like to know what y'all think. Whose side would you have been on?
Always,
Callie
Hi Callie! It's Christian. Smitherman. Based on the actual evidence, I would have been a Patriot as well, but it'll surprise you that if one little thing have of been different, I more than likely would have been a Loyalist. And that thing is representation. If England had of given the colonists a say, I would have been for the taxes. I know, I know, that doesn't sound like my Republican self, but the situation is different.
ReplyDeleteThose taxes I would have supported because England did, after all, just wage a war with the French and Indians (and had been protecting the colonists for decades at that point) with not a bit of expense to the colonists themselves. The Americans had become used to receiving a luxury for free so when they had to shell out for just a fraction of the actual cost it took to defend them, they went nuts. It's quite paralleled to the debate over entitlements today. People have been getting services from the government without have to pay near what it costs on each of them (because just taxing the rich would take close to 100 years to solve the current problem). So if there had of been representation, it would have been perfectly fine for them to have paid for a fraction of their own defense.
As for the tea, that's counting legal tea. Much of the tea that was shipped to the Americas during the time was smuggled from Dutch suppliers making it cheaper than East India Company's tea.
I did forget to mention representation, didn't I? I kept thinking "Ok, it'll go in this paragraph. No, this one is running too long, the next one..." Well, it never made it in.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I really only thought about legal tea. I only left out smuggling because I was writing this as more of a personal musing, and one thing that would unequivocally NOT change over time is my fear of getting in trouble. I wouldn't have been caught dead buying something on the black market that could be had legally. Compare it to my distinct lack of pirated music.
By the way, I would love to have you contribute your perspective to the blog sometime if you're interested. Just let me know and I can add you as a contributor too. :)
Happy Independence Day!
Well I've always been a bit of a Jeffersonian. And by a bit I mean I wish I could own a farm, sustain myself, a family, and a pack of hounds while supporting my addiction (books). I've always been very interested in agriculture and so I am almost certain I would have been a revolutionary for the simple reason that there were so many more chances to be a farmer in the colonies. But if I came from a more gentrified family then I would probably have been a loyalist. I think a lot about the sort of choices we make are informed by our situations. That is not to say those who are in bad situations cannot rise above them, nor that one's actions are always dictated by the above. However, I know that many of my personal opinions are deeply affected by where and how I was raised. And I know that if I were born in another time period I would probably be very influenced by the goings on of that time.
ReplyDeleteHappy Fourth