"Taking Loyalists seriously, Daniel Moy illuminates their deep engagement with classical tropes to justify resisting the Patriot bid for power. In clear prose and with keen insights, Moy reveals the intellectual foundation and stakes of the conservative struggle to defend the union of the British Empire in an era of revolution."—Alan Taylor, author of American Revolutions
“Antiquity and Loyalist Dissent is an impressive and original addition to the literature on the classics and revolutionary America. Moy underscores the extent to which late-eighteenth-century classical America was no more inherently radical or republican than it was conservative or monarchical, and that antiquity provided a wealth of principles, motifs and imagery not only to Whigs but also to American Tories. An intellectual tour de force!”—Eran Shalev, Department of History, Haifa University
“At last, the book for which I have been searching for decades—a lucid, thoughtful, scholarly treatment of the role of the Greek and Roman classics in the American loyalist movement—has finally been published! This book fills a huge void in the intellectual history of the American Revolutionary era.”—Carl J. Richard, Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
“Antiquity and Loyalist Dissent is a balanced, nuanced, and groundbreaking account of the ideology of those who remained loyal to the Crown during the American Revolution. Convincingly demonstrating that their loyalty was grounded in adherence to classical republicanism, Daniel Moy has written a book that should be read by all who wish to understand American Tories.” —John Ferling, author of Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War that Won It (2015)
“Denounced by victorious Patriots as enemies of American freedom, Loyalists have long been depicted as history’s villains, economically driven conservatives utterly lacking in noble aspirations. Daniel Moy’s impressively researched and gracefully written volume reminds us that Loyalist pamphleteers regarded themselves the intellectual descendants of ancient Romans and believed their self-governing communities safest within the British Empire.”—Douglas Egerton, author of Death of Liberty: African Americans and Revolutionary America
“In this fascinating study, Moy demonstrates that the American colonists who opposed the revolution of 1776 consistently referenced the institutions and traditions of the Roman Republic and the figures of Scipio, Cato, Cicero, Catiline, and Julius Caesar to articulate their case that loyalty to Britain was essential and just.”—Teresa Ramsby, Professor of Classics, University of Massachusetts Amherst
“A much overdue reassessment of the philosophical underpinnings of the Revolutionary War and the influence that classical Greece and Rome brought to bear upon Tory and Patriot alike.” —John Oller, author of The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution