It frequently
seems that whenever great wars occur the story of that conflict is recorded
for history mostly from the point of view of the victor. The treatments
received by the vanquished in text accounts and other commemorations
of the events are routinely ignored or minimized. Little attention
is paid to the case to be made for the defeated unless some committed
supporters of the defeated group remains to keep their point of
view alive. The continued contemporary interest in the cause and
the commitment of the people of the Confederacy in the American
Civil War stands out as a notable example.
On this portion
of the Electronic New Jersey website you will be able to read
the opinions of those who favored separation from Great Britain, of
those who were uncertain or unconcerned as to their allegiances and
those who viewed opposition to the rebellion as treason to the new nation.
Two hundred and
twenty years later it is easy to proclaim that one would have been a
patriot. But two hundred years ago it was difficult to state
without debate and discord who were the patriots and who were the traitors.
How would
you have defined loyalty in 1776? If you intended to be loyal
to the Crown, how would you explain your reasons for being loyal to
the King? If you were a revolutionary, what reasons would you
give for supporting extraordinary measures to separate yourself from
Great Britain?
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