What happened to the loyalists who stayed in the United States after the War for Independence?
After the war, 60,000 loyalists and 15,000 slaves evacuated the United States. But thousands more opted to remain in the new nation.
Rebecca Brannon, an Associate Professor of History at James Madison University and author of From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of South Carolina Loyalists, winner of the 2016 George C. Rogers Book Award, joins us to explore what happened to the loyalists who stayed.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Episode Summary
Rebecca Brannon, an Associate Professor of History at James Madison University and author of the award-winning book, From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of South Carolina Loyalists, joins us to explore what happened to some of the loyalists who stayed in the United States.
During our investigation, Rebecca reveals details about the War for Independence in South Carolina; Patriot plans to reintegrate loyalists back into South Carolinian Society after the war; And, how loyalists worked to make amends to earn their way back into South Carolinian society after the war.
What You’ll Discover
- The War for Independence in South Carolina
- The Lacy Family
- Loyalists
- Why Americans chose to remain loyal to or rebel against Great Britain
- The role slavery played in South Carolinians’ decisions to remain loyal or rebel
- South Carolina after the War for Independence
- Reintegrating loyalists into South Carolinian society
- Property confiscation
- How loyalists attempted to make amends with patriot family members and neighbors
- Role loyalists played in their reintegration into South Carolina Society
- Loyalist apologies
- The South Carolina Clemency Act of 1784
- What made the South Carolina Clemency Act the most generous in the United States
- Role loyalists played in the new nation
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Rebecca Brannon
- Rebecca's James Madison University Webpage
- Rebecca’s website
- Rebecca on Twitter: @rnbrannon
- Henry Laurens Papers
- From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists
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Complementary Episodes
- Episode 037: Kathleen DuVal, Independence Lost
- Episode 046: John Ferling: Whirlwind: The American Revolution & the War That Won It
- Episode 085: Bonnie Huskins, American Loyalists in Canada
- Episode 118: Christy Clark-Pujara, The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island
- Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances
Time Warp Question
In your opinion, what might have happened if South Carolinians had kept loyalists and the violent civil war South Carolinians waged during the War for Independence alive in their historical memory? How would an accurate version of the state’s War for Independence experience have affected the course of its early republic and antebellum history?
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