“Maiden America” for the History Buffs Out There

Did you know that a possible majority of Americans weren’t pro-America during the Revolutionary War?

If not, don’t worry. Neither did I until I started my research for “Maiden America” early last year. Through books like “1776” by brilliant historian David McCullough (which reads more like a novel than non-fiction. I highly recommend it) and “The Day Is Ours!” by William M. Dwyer.

As I note in my historical forward:

Several historians strongly suggest that no more than a third of the people at any time were fully on the revolutionaries’ side. As a general rule, those who shunned the spirit of independence did so because:

·      They believed the king’s ways and God’s ways were one.

·      They wanted to financially gain from siding with the crown.

·      They were pacifists.

·      They ranked other admittedly worthwhile concerns above freedom, such as their farms, families and personal safety.

Moreover (and this much I did know), even patriots entered the war considering themselves British citizens fighting for British rights. Right up until July 4, 1776, most of them would have happily laid down their arms and gone on as subjects of the king if their demands were only met.

Equally interesting is how the British weren’t all crying “Huzzah!” at the idea of forcing America to submit. I mean, obviously, King George III was.  And there were a whole lot of badly behaved soldiers and officers who made their affiliations very well known by not only shooting at patriot soldiers but also grossly mistreating prisoners, pillaging ordinary citizens’ property, raping women and generally behaving like cretins. But there were a whole lot of much more nobly-minded motherlanders who privately and publically decried their kings’ decisions:

There were members of Parliament who either partially or completely sided with the Americans in their list of grievances. Additionally, enough of the citizenry took issue with the war that King George III had to rely on German mercenaries to bulk up his military force; and he tried – and failed – to hire 20,000 Russians for the same purpose. There were even a few exceptionally prominent figures in Britain’s army who were noted American sympathizers, including Commander-in-Chief William Howe. The same went for Lord Richard Howe, who was in charge of the Royal Navy.

As for King George III, yeah, he was being a ridiculous tyrant. But like so many other ridiculous tyrants, that’s not at all how he saw it. In his mind, he was protecting his kingdom: His citizens were rebelling and he was simply ensuring that they learned their lesson to behave.

At least that was the goal. Obviously history had something very different in mind.