Document 6.1 JOSEPH GALLOWAY, Speech to Continental Congress (1774)
Document 6.2 CHARLES INGLIS, The True Interest of America Impartially Stated (1776)
Document 6.3 HANNAH GRIFFITS, Response to Thomas Paine (1777)
Document 6.4 Joseph Brant (Mohawk) Expresses Loyalty to the Crown (1776)
Document 6.5 BOSTON KING, Memoirs of the Life of Boston King (1798)
INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
Why does Joseph Galloway oppose independence (Document 6.1)? How does he defend Great Britain? Does he believe the colonies owe something to the crown? What does he think will occur if the Continental Congress abandons a moderate course?
Why, according to Charles Inglis, should the colonists reunite with Great Britain (Document 6.2)? Why does he argue that the colonists need the crown? What does he predict will happen if reconciliation does not occur?
How does Hannah Griffits describe Thomas Paine (Document 6.3)? What does she claim is Paine’s motivation for his writing? How does her critique compare to that of Inglis?
Why did Joseph Brant (Document 6.4) decide to remain loyal to the crown? How had the American colonists responded to the Mohawks’ siding with the crown? What did Brant ask of the king?
What incident prompted Boston King to make an escape from slavery (Document 6.5)? What conditions did he find in the British camps? What were his experiences once the war ended? Is it accurate to refer to him as a loyalist?
PUT IT IN CONTEXT
What did these loyalists have in common? How did they differ? What factors do you think would have made a person more likely to side with Great Britain?
Do you think calls for reconciliation were realistic in 1775? In 1776? Why or why not?
Thinking through Sources forExploring American Histories, Volume 1Printed Page 44