Conspectus of the History of Political Parties and the Federal Government/Conspectus of Political History/Revolutionary
Revolutionary.
Origin of parties.—When the Revolutionary war began (1775), the questions at issue between the British ministry and the colonists gave rise, among the latter, to the Whig and the Tory party. These were the names of the two great political parties in England, but they lost in America the significance which they had in the parent country. The line of difference between the parties, for the first fifteen months of hostilities, was drawn by the terms on which the connection of the colonies with England should continue. “The Whigs wished to remain colonists on condition that their rights would be guaranteed to them;” the Tories were willing to thus remain without such guarantee. After the
Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Whigs advocated absolute separation from Great Britain, while the Tories supported the cause of the Crown. The declaration was moved in Congress, June 7th, by Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, in these words: “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” A formal declaration was then prepared, and adopted on the 4th of July.
The Whig party was composed of those Americans who favored the principles for which the Revolutionary war was fought, and drew into its ranks nearly all the clergy, except those of the Episcopal faith; the major part of the lawyers; a large proportion of the physicians; and many “young men who had their fortunes to make and distinctions to win.” “Sons of Liberty” and “Liberty Men” were Whigs. Those of this party who took an active part in the struggle for independence were called Patriots. A majority of the colonists were Whigs. It is estimated that in some states they were probably in the minority, and in others they about equaled their opponents. When hostilities opened, this party began to assume control of colonial affairs, both civil and military, and throughout the war it directed the government of the states and of the nation. The Whigs fought for a cause as righteous as any that ever arrayed men in battle, and in so doing they broke the yoke of colonial vassalage and gained for the world much of that which they gained for themselves.
Continental Congress.—During the first six years of the war, the central authority of the country was the Continental Congress, composed of delegates from the states, who acted under assumed powers. The requirements of Congress were not binding upon the states unless they so willed; but unity of action was secured by patriotism and a common danger, and the “power exercised by Congress was acquiesced in by the people.” To establish a settled form of government and a permanent union, the United States, in 1781, adopted the
Articles of Confederation, by which, thirteen in number, the powers of Congress were defined. “This body was granted control over questions of war and peace; but its powers and duties were chiefly advisory and dependent for their execution upon the co-operation of the states.” The articles did not provide for an executive or a judicial department. By this defective system, Congress was left powerless in civil affairs, and the highest authority was vested in the states.
The Tory party was composed of the colonists who adhered to the Crown during the war. It was joined by nearly all royal officials, some eminent lawyers, dependents of royal landholders, numerous physicians, some who were at first conservative, or neutral, and those who, not otherwise influenced, dreading the strength of England, believed that a “successful resistance to her power was impossible.” The Tories, or Royalists, composed a considerable portion of the force employed to put down the “rebellion.” The number of them who enlisted in the military service of the Crown was probably more than twenty-five thousand. Various measures were taken by the Whig populace to awe and punish the Tories. Different ones at different times, as circumstances seemed to suggest, were “tarred and feathered,” mobbed, smoked, waylaid, insulted, deposed from office, and driven from home. Against them the legislatures of the states, according to the offense committed, passed laws inflicting such penalties as death, exile, confiscation of estate, loss of personal liberty for a limited period, disqualification from office, imprisonment, and transportation to a British possession. At the peace of 1783, these laws were in force, and no provision was made for the Royalists; they were banished by those they had opposed, and neglected by those they had aided. When the British troops were withdrawn from our shores, the Tories abandoned the United States and became the founders of New Brunswick and Upper Canada. The exiles appealed to Parliament for relief, and received, after several years of delay, fifteen and a half millions of dollars. Besides this, many of them obtained “annuities, half pay as military officers, large grants of land, and shared with other subjects in the patronage of the Crown.” The Royalists, whose injury to the cause of liberty had not been great, were permitted to remain at home. The issue on which their party was based, died with the Revolution, and in 1783 the Tory party ceased to exist.