Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists (also referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men) were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies of British America who remained loyal to the British crown. The term was initially coined in 1774 when political tensions rose before the outbreak of the American Revolution. Those supporting the revolution self-identified as Patriots or Whigs, and considered the Loyalists "persons inimical to the liberties of America."

Prominent Loyalists repeatedly assured the British government that many thousands of them would spring to arms and fight for the Crown. The British government acted in expectation of that, especially during the Southern campaigns of 1780 and 1781. However, Britain was able to protect the people only in areas where they had military control; thus, the number of military Loyalists was significantly lower than what had been expected. Loyalists were often under suspicion of those in the British military, who did not know whom they could fully trust in such a conflicted situation.

Patriots watched suspected Loyalists very closely and would not tolerate organized Loyalist opposition. Many outspoken or militarily active Loyalists were forced to flee, especially to their stronghold of New York City. William Franklin, the colonial governor of New Jersey and son of Patriot leader Benjamin Franklin, became the leader of the Loyalists after his release from a Patriot prison in 1778. He worked to build Loyalist military units to fight in the war. Woodrow Wilson wrote:

there had been no less than twenty-five thousand loyalists enlisted in the British service during the five years of the fighting. At one time (1779) they had actually outnumbered the whole of the continental muster under the personal command of Washington.

When their cause was defeated, about 15 percent of the Loyalists (65,000–70,000 people) fled to other parts of the British Empire; especially to the Kingdom of Great Britain or to British North America and became known as United Empire Loyalists. Most were compensated with Canadian land or British cash distributed through formal claims procedures. The southern Loyalists moved mostly to East or West Florida or to British Caribbean possessions. Loyalists who left the US received over £3 million, or about 37% of their losses, from the British government. Loyalists who stayed in the US were generally able to retain their property and become American citizens. Many Loyalists eventually returned to the US after the war and after discriminatory laws had been repealed. Historians have estimated that between 15% and 20% (300,000 to 400,000) of the 2,000,000 whites in the colonies in 1775 were Loyalists.