American Revolution Loyalist-Patriot Perspectives
In the years prior to the American Revolution there were many different perspectives on whether the colonies should fight for their independence, or remain loyal to England and attempt to repair their relationship. The loyalists, who were mostly royal governors and officials in the colonies, believed that the talk of separation from Britain was a waste of time as it seemed impossible at the time. They also believed that the colonies still owed Britain a great debt due to their support in helping win the French and Indian War. Most loyalists believed that the colonies could not survive on their own as they depended just as much, if not more, on Great Britain as they did the colonies. The opposing perspective came from the group of people know as the patriots, who supported colonial independence from England. Many believed strongly in this fight for liberty and went to great measures to express their beliefs and have their voices heard. These people disagreed with the taxes being instilled on the colonies without proper representation, and believed that Parliament and the King were unfit to rule the colonies as such a great distance separated each country and their governments. Both sides had their arguments as to why fighting for independence or remaining loyal to Britain was the right choice, and using these arguments, attracted many people to join each of their sides. Plain Truth was an article written by James Chalmers in 1776 which was essentially an angry response to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense that was published shortly before. In seventy pages, Chalmers wrote anything he could think of to tear down Common Sense. His main fault was in his writing, as it was directed at the more educated men and women, who at the time were mostly loyalists already, unlike Common Sense which was written very simply in order to be read and understood by even the uneducated. His main opposition to Paine were his views on democracy. Paine had a strong desire for democracy,