Colonists who opposed American Revolution all but forgotten(Justifying NY TIMES)

San Diego UNION ^ | 4 July 2006 | Cynthia Crossen

[muawiyah]

New Brunswick wouldn't exist if not for these guys. Maybe Canada has room for another province we might call "Liberal Media".

[muawiyah]

Virginia, at that time, had MOST of the population too.

[MaDeuce]

"My point:
For 40 years (1932-1994) DEMOCRATS held Congress. They forced Republican Presidents to foillow their line. They drove out people who tried to keep America free of Communists and traitors(Joe McCarthy and Oliver North)
They passed information to the communists (Verified by Ann Coulter in the book TREASON)
Now they are saying we have to go back to their ways."

Sounds like its time for another Revolution.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Others believed only oligarchies of well-bred intellectuals were competent to govern a country.

Mexico in a nutshell.

[calex59]

Gee, thanks for the history lesson. Sorry for your wasted effort since I know all that, and I think most Americans my age do.

My comment about the 1/5 figure was pointing out the idiocy of the statements being made, implying that simply because every single person on this continent didn't support the revolution we might consider giving it back to Britain. I used the figures the article used to do this. I didn't make them up or imply that they were correct. You might try actually understanding people's comments before you reply to them.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Sounds like its time for another Revolution.

The ideology of those in favor, basically, of slavery of the masses still remains.

[freedom moose]

OK, please excuse a non USA freeper's ignorance. But this cartoon made me think. So is the"macaroni" in Yankke doodle a reference to something historic and not just a convenient rhyme? Feather in his hat? tar and feathering. what's with the "macarony" spelling?

[Madame Dufarge]

During Pre-Revolutionary America when the song "Yankee Doodle" first became popular, the word macaroni in the line that reads "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni" didn't refer to the pasta. Instead, "Macaroni" was a fancy and overdressed ("dandy") style of Italian clothing widely imitated in England at the time. So by just sticking a feather in his cap and calling himself a "Macaroni", Yankee Doodle was proudly proclaiming himself to be a country bumpkin (an awkward and unsophisticated person), because that was how the English regarded most colonials at that time.

[muawiyah]

Today I don't particularly care about the so-called "Loyalists" so I've spent my time reading about the Maryland 400, and their only modern counterparts, the 100th/442nd, and Flight 93.

[silverleaf]

"Clearly, some loyalists were motivated by self-interest or greed; Britain was paying their salaries or buying their goods. Others believed only oligarchies of well-bred intellectuals were competent to govern a country. They looked down on revolutionary leaders as “men whom nobody knows.” And some were convinced that Great Britain, then the world's most powerful nation, would make short work of America's shabby rebels.

Still others, lovers of order and tradition, felt emotionally attached to Britain's flag and what it stood for – a constitutional monarchy with proven mechanisms for resolving disputes and maintaining social stability. “They pointed to the amazing growth and prosperity of the Colonies and to the great freedom they enjoyed – how much more could a reasonable man want?” wrote Wallace Brown in his 1965 book, “The King's Friends.”


The loyalists also feared the “madness of the multitude,” the violence and anarchy of rebellion and the possible despotism of an American Caesar.

“Almost all of the loyalists were, in one way or another, more afraid of America than they were of Britain,” said William H. Nelson in the 1961 “The American Tory.”

Poorly organized and without unifying leaders, the loyalists never stood a chance against the zealous Patriots...."

BARFFF! The NYT chooses the 4th of July to lionize the losers who wanted to remain subjects of a crazy King who gave a rats ass only for how much tax revenue he could extract from the colonies. The writer displays the same horrid admiration for order and law over the chaos of democracy .... as did the Germans who embraced Naziism. What next, a NYT attack on Ghandi and a sympathetic piece on the Indians who would have preferred to remain house servants to colonial officials who were determined to tidy up India?

[Dick Vomer]

I liked the fact that a lot of the loyalists were hanged, houses burned and others killed....

I say let history repeat itself...

of course that is meant in a sarcastic, poorly humorous way and in no way reflects my opinion of what could happen to treasonous quislings if this country descended into prolonged guerrilla warfare within its borders.

[squarebarb]

I think 'macaroni' was a new and popular food at the time, and so anything 'flash' or new or fashionable was called 'macaroni'.

[silverleaf]

Counter the madness;

The British prison ships in New York, where more Americans died than in all the battles of the Revolution.

Never forget. The final resting place of the bleached remains of thousands of patriots probably lies within regular sight of the writer and many readers of this article.

http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history-hs425a,0,6698945.story

[socal_parrot]

A macaroni was an eighteenth-century English fop who assumed well-bred European mannerism. Macaroni was a flamboyant form of dress in Italy at the time that involved sticking a large feather from a hat. A macaroni believed that he was stylish despite his outlandish attire. By sticking a feather in his cap, a yankee believed he was fashionable instead of appearing comical.

[AmericaUnite]

He was wounded in that duel and died a lonely man surrounded by his dogs near Philadelphia.

In this History show, they had him captured by the British who thought he was their biggest threat militarily. He had stood up Washington and was eating at an inn. They did say a general named Reed agreed with him about Washington. And that some of the public and Washington's troops were becoming very doubtful of Washington and the war effort.

Not true? I wish Ollie North ran that channel.

[Alas Babylon!]

Not just New Brunswick, but a great deal of Nova Scotia, and especially Ontario. The English speaking portions of Canada was virtually made by our Tory cousins who left after we gained independence.

[lightman]

From a FR post several years ago about songs from wartime (Military Officers Association Of America ^ | April 3, 2004 | David Edward Dayton):

"Everyone knew and sang the tune. Then Richard Shuckburgh wrote a ridicule of the Connecticut militia to it, and his version became the most popular—and
most despised—in the 13 colonies. British troops sang the “Yankey Song” on march, off duty, and outside churches; they literally sang the colonists into
rebellion. Yet this mockery of our armed forces became our first national hit.

On April 19, 1775, Lord Hugh Percy led 900 soldiers from Boston to Concord, Mass., to punish the insurrectionists, seize ammunition stores, and apprehend
rebel leaders. An earlier expedition frantically retreated into their ranks, fleeing colonial sharpshooters. Percy battled his way back to Boston one bloody mile at
a time. Ecstatic with success, the American soldiers “captured” the Shuckburgh ditty and sang it as their anthem of victory. Historian Stuart Murray notes, “The
‘Yankey Song’ soon would have new words and a new name: ‘Yankee Doodle,’ America’s song of triumph.”

[AnalogReigns]

"the white men of Barnstable, Mass..."

Yeah, I'm sure this little village in colonial Massachusetts was just full of disinfranchised people of color unable to vote... (or is there any record of just ONE???)

Why write stories in language so disrespectful of our forefathers?

[Caipirabob]

OK, please excuse a non USA freeper's ignorance. But this cartoon made me think. So is the"macaroni" in Yankee doodle a reference to something historic and not just a convenient rhyme? Feather in his hat? tar and feathering. what's with the "macarony" spelling?

This is just an excellent question for today, so I did some research. Enjoy!

1) The word macaroni also meant "dandy", or "fop", or "dude" at the time.

Here is an in-depth explanation of "Yankee Doodle" and it's history, better explained than I can sum up in this thread.

The meaning of "Yankee Doodle".

[KosmicKitty]

But the Civil War helped change Americans' notions of loyalty and rebellion, and some historians began crediting loyalists with the courage to maintain a deeply unpopular minority view.

So, I guess this means that we should "feel good" about all the anti-american moonbats running around today. They aren't traitors who spill national defense secrets to the enemy. They are the truly courageous ones among the rest of us patriotic slobbering idiots. They, too, may have an important place in the history of our country someday.

Now please excuse me while I go up-chuck.

Happy 4th to all Freepers and real Americans!!!!!!!!!