Troup County School System - History Lesson Plan Database

Title:
Characteristics of Loyalists during the American Revolution

Author:
Melba Moon

Linked Essays:
American Revolution: Issues that forged a Nation

Overview:
This lesson explores the social, political, and economic interests of colonists of Great Britain's North American colonies who chose to remain loyal to the Crown. Students will examine selected readings from the era and identify reasons for colonists remaining loyal. Also, they will examine biographies of selected Loyalists. (This lesson may be used in conjunction with lesson "Characteristics of Patriots of the American Revolution". Through a comparative study, students would then identify factors which divided colonists and resulted in some becoming Loyalists and some becoming Patriots.)

Materials:

Internet biographies will be used.

Website for list of Georgia Loyalists who were banished from the state:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~gataylor/loyalist.htm

Loyalist response to Thomas Paine:

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/libertydebate/inglis.htm

List of Loyalists with suggested websites for student research:

William Franklin

http://08016.com/wfranklin.html

Thomas Hutchinson

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1222.html

James Wright

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-669

Joseph Brant

http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/1998/brant.html

James Rivington

http://www.famousamericans.net/jamesrivington/

John Butler (Chronology of his role in Revolutionary Events in New York)

http://www,nyhistory.net/~drums/chronicle/htm

Guy Carleton

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/BlackLoyalists/people/influential/carleton.htm

Henry Clinton

http://www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/CLINTON.HTM

Robert Cunningham

http://sc_tories.tripod.com/robert_cunningham1.htm

Oliver DeLancey

http://www.tourismsaintjohn.com/files/upload/HISTORY%20&%20CULTURE%20-Delanceys%20Brigade%20with%20photo.pdf

Worksheets for characteristics of Loyalists.

Pictures of selected Loyalists selected from websites, text book or other sources.

Venn Diagram: http://www.2learn.ca/construct/graphicorg/venn/vennindex.html

Items to use as the pocket contents in bell assignment, such as:

Picture of king, paper money, drawing of gold coins, copy of cover Common Sense, pieces of red material from flag, letter from home, etc.

Projected Time:
50 minutes

Lesson Plan Sequence:
3

Essential Question:
What social, political, and economic characteristics in the lives of certain colonists led them to remain loyal to the Crown?

Bell Assignment:

Preparation:

Have a desk set up at the front of the room with two dolls covered in cloth.

Have each student take a piece of paper and make two columns, one titled "Patriot"; the other, "Loyalist".

Activity:

Tell the students that the class will accompany you in time travel back to the Revolutionary War Period. You, the teacher, are assuming the role of a coroner and have a dilemma with which you need their help. Explain that the dolls are soldiers who died in battle. The only information that you know is that one is a Patriot and one is a Loyalist; however, the bodies have no name tags. You have only the contents of their pockets to determine which is which. (Have a selection of items in two paper bags that students can use to determine the identity of each. One bag should have items that a Loyalist might have and the other would have items that a Patriot might have. Examples are: money, drawing of the king, gunpowder, Sons of Liberty poster, pieces of cloth in red, white and blue, a letter, etc.)

Students should examine the contents of the bag beside each doll and decide if he is a Patriot or a Loyalist. Have students write which doll they think is a Patriot and which is a Loyalist, Turn in the papers.

Generate a discussion with students about the bell assignment. Teacher will lead a discussion of which bag belonged to a Patriot and which to a Loyalist. What made them think this one was a Patriot? This one, a Loyalist?

Activating Strategy:

Teacher will introduce the fact that there was a division of American colonists' sentiments on independence and state that some colonists chose to remain loyal to the Crown. (To gather background information to set the stage for students' comprehension, visit: http://www.rootsweb.com/~gataylor/loyalist.htm.) Teacher also may want to share the document included on this website in which the Assembly of the State of Georgia banished a list of men from the state. This was published in the Savannah newspaper, The Georgia Gazette.

Using the document, written by Charles Inglis, "The True Interest of America Impartially Stated, 1776" (See website: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/libertydebate/inglis.htm), have students analyze Inglis' arguments for reconciliation and his statement of advantages. (Suggested strategy: Divide students into groups of two. Have one read and take notes on reasons for reconciliation and the other take notes on advantages. Upon completion of individual work, pairs should share what they have learned from their readings. They should assume the role of colonists and attempt to come to an agreement on whether they agree or disagree with Inglis. They should state the rationale for their decisions.)

Teacher will lead a brief discussion on students' interpretation of information gleaned from a Loyalist response to Thomas Paine.

Instructional Activities:

Step 1 Assign students to groups or have each work independently. (If this lesson is used in conjunction with " Characteristics of the Patriots in the American Revolution", use the same structure in determining groups.)

Step 2 Use class discussion to guide students into the lesson.

Step 3 Assign Patriots and share websites for gathering traits. Provide the worksheet for students to use to record data. ( See Materials for the list of Patriots and suggested websites. See Linked Files for worksheet.)

Step 4 Students will read short biographies to learn about the colonists who remained loyal to the Crown. Students will add characteristics to the chart as they pull them from the selected reading.

Step 5 When all characteristics have been listed on their charts, have students orally share their findings. Teacher should list them on the board. (If teacher is using this plan in conjunction with "Characteristics of Patriots....", have students complete a Venn Diagram (http://www.2learn.ca/construct/graphicorg/venn/vennindex.html) to compare the two groups. Class discussion will be helpful in filling out this form.)

Summarizing Activities:

Basing information on class activities, each student should write a letter to a family member stating why he/she decided to become a Loyalist and what life was like as a Loyalist during the American Revolution.. The letter should be at least one page in length. Remind students that it not only men were Patriots or Loyalists; the women chose sides as well.

(Students who are willing can share their letters with the class.

Notes:

Loyalist’s websites

http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/loyalist.htm

http://earlyamerica.com/review/winter2000/loyalists.html

Declaration of Independence

http://www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/DECLARA.HTM

South Carolina Loyalists and Rebels

http://sc_tories.tripod.com/

Black Loyalists

http://www.blackloyalist.com/historypage.html

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/blackloyalists/story/revolution/revolution.htm