Essay Questions for Thinking through Sources 6

Notice Point of View: The authors of these five documents opposed the fight for American independence, but they did so for different reasons. From what position and with what motivation did each of these writers compose his or her document? How did their respective social positions (social and economic status, race, gender, nationality) shape the content of their messages?

Compare Arguments: Joseph Galloway and Charles Inglis clearly opposed the proposal that the American colonies should declare independence from Great Britain, Hannah Griffits objected to Thomas Paine’s radicalism but did not articulate her own analysis of the emerging conflict, and Boston King and Joseph Brant actually sided with and fought for the British cause in the war. What, if anything, did these five figures actually have in common? If they had met in person, what points of agreement might they have identified and discussed? Where would they have disagreed?

Define Conceptions of Liberty: How did each of these writers understand the concept of liberty, and what did they believe about how the conflict between the Americans and the British might either expand or diminish the degree of liberty they enjoyed as North Americans?

Define Loyalism: Historians sometimes discuss loyalists as if they compromised a unified group in the American colonies during the period of the American Revolution. After reading these documents, how would you define loyalism? Would you argue that it is legitimate to regard it as a unified category, or are the differences between individuals and groups that supported Great Britain too great?