New York had a strong claim as the most Loyalist colony, driven by its commercial ties to Britain and a wealthy merchant class for whom independence meant genuine economic risk. William Smith Jr.—known as a “Loyalist Whig” for trying to straddle both worlds—illustrates the difficulty of the moment: summoned to swear loyalty to the new nation, he refused, was forced out, and eventually returned to British-occupied New York. James Rivington, the outspoken Loyalist printer, was tarred and feathered and had his press destroyed by the Sons of Liberty, yet later secretly passed intelligence to the American cause—emblematic of the fluid loyalties of the period. The divide was less a binary than a continuum, and during the seven-year occupation survival shaped many choices.
Interviewees
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Julie Golia
- Linda May Uris Director, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library, New York Public Library
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Meredith Mann
- Interim Charles J. Liebman Curator of Manuscripts, New York Public Library
