The Fathers of the Constitution | Page 8

Revolution was accomplished by an aggressive minority
and that perhaps as great a number were actively loyal to Great Britain.
These Loyalists comprised at least two groups. One of these was a
wealthy, property-owning class, representing the best social element in
the colonies, extremely conservative, believing in privilege and fearing
the rise of democracy. The other was composed of the royal
officeholders, which included some of the better families, but was more
largely made up of the lower class of political and social hangers-on,
who had been rewarded with these positions for political debts incurred
in England. The opposition of both groups to the Revolution was
inevitable and easily to be understood, but it was also natural that the
Revolutionists should incline to hold the Loyalists, without distinction,
largely responsible for British pre-Revolutionary policy, asserting that
they misinformed the Government as to conditions and sentiment in
America, partly through stupidity and partly through selfish interest. It
was therefore perfectly comprehensible that the feeling should be bitter
against them in the United States, especially as they had given efficient
aid to the British during the war. In various States they were subjected
to personal violence at the hands of indignant "patriots," many being
forced to flee from their homes, while their property was destroyed or
confiscated, and frequently these acts were legalized by statute.
The historian of the Loyalists of Massachusetts, James H. Stark, must
not be expected to understate the case, but when he is describing,
especially in New England, the reign of terror which was established to

suppress these people, he writes:
"Loyalists were tarred and feathered and carried on rails, gagged and
bound for days at a time; stoned, fastened in a room with a fire and the
chimney stopped on top; advertised as public enemies, so that they
would be cut off from all dealings with their neighbors; they had bullets
shot into their bedrooms, their horses poisoned or mutilated; money or
valuable plate extorted from them to save them from violence, and on
pretence of taking security for their good behavior; their houses and
ships burned; they were compelled to pay the guards who watched
them in their houses, and when carted about for the mob to stare at and
abuse, they were compelled to pay something at every town."
There is little doubt also that the confiscation of property and the
expulsion of the owners from the community were helped on by people
who were debtors to the Loyalists and in this way saw a chance of
escaping from the payment of their rightful obligations. The "Act for
confiscating the estates of certain persons commonly called absentees"
may have been a measure of self-defense for the State but it was passed
by the votes of those who undoubtedly profited by its provisions.
Those who had stood loyally by the Crown must in turn be looked out
for by the British Government, especially when the claims of justice
were reinforced by the important consideration that many of those with
property and financial interests in America were relatives of influential
persons in England. The immediate necessity during the war had been
partially met by assisting thousands to go to Canada--where their
descendants today form an important element in the population and are
proud of being United Empire Loyalists--while pensions and gifts were
supplied to others. Now that the war was over the British were
determined that Americans should make good to the Loyalists for all
that they had suffered, and His Majesty's Commissioners were hopeful
at least of obtaining a proviso similar to the one relating to the
collection of debts. John Adams, however, expressed the prevailing
American idea when he said that "paying debts and compensating
Tories" were two very different things, and Jay asserted that there were
certain of these refugees whom Americans never would forgive.
But this was the one thing needed to complete the negotiations for
peace, and the British arguments on the injustice and irregularity of the
treatment accorded to the Loyalists were so strong that the American

Commissioners were finally driven to the excuse that the Government
of the Confederation had no power over the individual States by whom
the necessary action must be taken. Finally, in a spirit of mutual
concession at the end of the negotiations, the Americans agreed that
Congress should "recommend to the legislatures of the respective states
to provide for the restitution" of properties which had been confiscated
"belonging to real British subjects," and "that persons of any other
description" might return to the United States for a period of twelve
months and be "unmolested in their endeavours to obtain the
restitution."
With this show of yielding on the part of the American Commissioners
it was possible to conclude the terms of peace, and the preliminary
treaty was