Note: Presenting via Zoom as part of the Smithsonian Associates program.

Loyalists emerged as the great losers of the American Revolution. These men and women who opposed independence and fought to keep the colonies within the British Empire saw their fortunes collapse after the patriot victory at Yorktown in 1781. History quickly lost sight of them, and from today’s perspective it’s hard to understand why so many ordinary Americans were bitterly opposed to the break with Britain and the birth of a new democratic nation.

Historian Richard Bell reexamines the conflict through the experiences of loyalists from all rungs of the social ladder, challenging stereotypes that portray them as cowardly elites or self-interested officials. Bell explores their motivations, their wartime struggles, and the profound changes they faced once the patriots prevailed.