Unnatural Rebellion: Loyalists in New York City during the Revolution

by Ruma Chopra

Overview

Thousands of British American mainland colonists rejected the War for American Independence. Shunning rebel violence as unnecessary, unlawful, and unnatural, they emphasized the natural ties of blood, kinship, language, and religion that united the colonies to Britain. They hoped that British military strength would crush the minority rebellion and free the colonies to renegotiate their return to the empire.

Of course the loyalists were too American to be of one mind. This is a story of how a cross-section of colonists flocked to the British headquarters of New York City to support their ideal of reunion. Despised by the rebels as enemies or as British appendages, New York’s refugees hoped to partner with the British to restore peaceful government in the colonies. The British confounded their expectations by instituting martial law in the city and marginalizing loyalist leaders. Still, the loyal Americans did not surrender their vision but creatively adapted their rhetoric and accommodated military governance to protect their long-standing bond with the mother country. They never imagined that allegiance to Britain would mean a permanent exile from their homes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813934402
Publisher:	University of Virginia Press
Publication date:	03/01/2013
Series:	Jeffersonian America
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ruma Chopra is Assistant Professor in the History Department at San Jose State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Natural Rights and Natural Ties: Britons in New York City 7

2 "Uncommon Phrenzy": Rebel Usurpation, 1774-1776 29

3 "Quicken Others by Our Example": New Yorkers Welcome the British 51

4 "Lord Pity This Poor Country": Loyalist Resilience 80

5 "Diversity of Sentiments on the Future Conduct of the War": Loyalist Clamor 108

6 "A Certificate of Their Necessity": A Mix of Refugees and Rules 136

7 "The Die Had Been Cast": Loyalist Divisions 160

8 "Look Yo Tory Crew, and See What George Your King Can Do": Loyalists Unprotected 188

Conclusion: Loyalist Patriotism Exceeds Loyalist Power 223

Notes 227

Bibliography 271

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

Unnatural Rebellion provides a new and inviting Loyalist point of entry into the complexity of the American Revolution. Loyalist politics, Chopra discerns, were rooted in natural law, in custom, and in an initially polarizing but eventually a careful and knowledgeable reading of the social character of the Revolution.

Robert M. Calhoon

Ruma Chopra's book constitutes a fresh look at an intractable subject—the emergence of loyalist opposition to a revolution made in the name of liberty and virtue. The loyalists, she argues, saw an ‘unnatural rebellion’ when revolutionaries found ‘a glorious cause.’ In a close examination of loyalists in New York City, she shows that the differences between the two groups were sharp even though they shared many of the same values.

Chopra’s book is not an apology for the loyalists. Rather it is a sensitive, yet probing, study of their commitments and circumstances. All in all, it is a book impressive in its rich insights and analytical power.

Robert Middlekauff

" Unnatural Rebellion provides a new and inviting Loyalist point of entry into the complexity of the American Revolution. Loyalist politics, Chopra discerns, were rooted in natural law, in custom, and in an initially polarizing but eventually a careful and knowledgeable reading of the social character of the Revolution. "—Robert M. Calhoon, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, author of The Loyalists in Revolutionary America, 1760–1781

"Ruma Chopra's book constitutes a fresh look at an intractable subject—the emergence of loyalist opposition to a revolution made in the name of liberty and virtue. The loyalists, she argues, saw an ‘unnatural rebellion’ when revolutionaries found ‘a glorious cause.’ In a close examination of loyalists in New York City, she shows that the differences between the two groups were sharp even though they shared many of the same values.

Chopra’s book is not an apology for the loyalists. Rather it is a sensitive, yet probing, study of their commitments and circumstances. All in all, it is a book impressive in its rich insights and analytical power. "—Robert Middlekauff, University of California, Berkeley

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