Editing Ethan Allen (section)

===Politics===
[[File:George Clinton, engraved by John Chester Buttre.jpg|thumb|upright|New York Governor [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]]]]
Allen spent the next several years involved in Vermont's political and military matters. While his family remained in Arlington, he spent most of his time either in Bennington or on the road, where he could avoid his wife's nagging.<ref name="Jellison194">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 194</ref> Shortly after his arrival, Vermont's Assembly passed the [[Banishment Act (Vermont)|Banishment Act]], a sweeping measure allowing for the confiscation and auction by the republic of property owned by known [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tories]]. Allen was appointed to be one of the judges responsible for deciding whose property was subject to seizure under the law. (This law was so successful at collecting revenue that Vermont did not impose any taxes until 1781.)<ref name="Holbrook140">[[#Holbrook|Holbrook]], p. 140</ref> Allen personally escorted some of those convicted under the law to Albany, where he turned them over to General [[John Stark]] for transportation to the British lines. Some of these supposed Tories protested to New York Governor [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] that they were actually dispossessed Yorkers. Clinton, who considered Vermont to still be a part of New York, did not want to honor the actions of the Vermont tribunals; Stark, who had custody of the men, disagreed with Clinton. Eventually the dispute made its way to George Washington, who essentially agreed with Stark since he desperately needed the general's services. The prisoners were eventually transported to [[West Point, New York|West Point]], where they remained in "easy imprisonment".<ref name="Jellison198_0">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 198–200</ref>

While Allen's service as a judge in Vermont was brief, he continued to ferret out Tories and report them to local Boards of Confiscation for action. He was so zealous in these efforts that they also included naming his own brother Levi, who was apparently trying to swindle Allen and Ira out of land at the time. This action was somewhat surprising, as Levi had not only attempted to purchase Allen's release while he was in Halifax, but he had also traveled to New York while Allen was on parole there and furnished him with goods and money.<ref name="Jellison200_1">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 200–201</ref> Allen and Levi engaged in a war of words, many of which were printed in the ''[[Hartford Courant|Connecticut Courant]]'', even after Levi crossed British lines. They would eventually reconcile in 1783.<ref name="Jellison203">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 203</ref>

Early in 1779, Governor Clinton issued a proclamation stating that the state of New York would honor the Wentworth grants, if the settlers would recognize New York's political jurisdiction over the Vermont territory. Allen wrote another pamphlet in response, entitled ''An {{sic|Animad|versory}} Address to the Inhabitants of the State of Vermont; with Remarks on a Proclamation under the Hand of his Excellency George Clinton, Esq; Governor of the State of New York''. In typical style, Allen castigated the governor for issuing "romantic proclamations ... calculated to deceive woods people", and for his "folly and stupidity".<ref name="Jellison205">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 205</ref> Clinton's response, once he recovered his temper, was to issue another proclamation little different from the first. Allen's pamphlet circulated widely, including among members of Congress, and was successful in casting the Vermonters' case in a positive light.<ref name="Jellison206">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], p. 206</ref>

In a dispatch to Clinton from [[Westminster, Vermont|Westminster]], two prisoners from New York sentenced after Allen's intervention pleaded with the governor to free them from being at "the disposal of Ethan {{sic|Allin}} which is more to be dreaded than Death with all its Terrors."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Ralph Nading |title=Yankee Kingdom: Vermont and New Hampshire |publisher=Harper & Brothers |year=1960 |location=New York |pages=112}}</ref>

In 1779, Allen published the account of his time in captivity, ''A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity ... Containing His Voyages and Travels, With the most remarkable Occurrences respecting him and many other Continental Prisoners of Observations. Written by Himself and now published for the Information of the Curious in all Nations''. First published as a [[serial (literature)|serial]] by the ''[[Pennsylvania Packet]]'', the book was an instant best-seller;<ref name=Holbrook158_9>[[#Holbrook|Holbrook]], pp. 158–59</ref> it is still available today. While largely accurate, it notably omits Benedict Arnold from the capture of Ticonderoga, and Seth Warner as the leader of the Green Mountain Boys.<ref name="Jellison216_9">[[#Jellison|Jellison]], pp. 218–19</ref>