Editing American Revolution (section)

====Loyalists====
{{Main|Loyalist (American Revolution)}}
{{see also|Loyalists fighting in the American Revolution|United Empire Loyalist}}
The consensus of scholars is that about 15 to 20 percent of the white population remained loyal to the British Crown.<ref>Calhoon, "Loyalism and neutrality" in Greene and Pole, eds. ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (1980) at [https://books.google.com/books?id=xK1NuzpAcH8C&pg=PA235 p. 235]</ref> Those who actively supported the king were known at the time as "Loyalists", "Tories", or "King's men". The Loyalists never controlled territory unless the British Army occupied it. They were typically older, less willing to break with old loyalties, and often connected to the Church of England; they included many established merchants with strong business connections throughout the Empire, as well as royal officials such as Thomas Hutchinson of Boston.<ref>Calhoon, "Loyalism and neutrality" in Greene and Pole, eds. ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (1980) pp. 235–247,</ref>

There were 500 to 1,000 [[Black Loyalist]]s, enslaved African Americans who escaped to British lines and supported Britain's cause via several means. Many of them died from disease, but the survivors were evacuated by the British to [[British North America|their remaining colonies in North America]].<ref>Mary BethNorton, "The fate of some Black Loyalists of the American Revolution". ''Journal of Negro History'' 58.4 (1973): 402–426 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2716747 online].</ref>

The revolution could divide families, such as [[William Franklin]], son of Benjamin Franklin and royal governor of the [[Province of New Jersey]] who remained loyal to the Crown throughout the war. He and his father never spoke again.<ref>[[Sheila L. Skemp]], ''Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist'' (1994)</ref> Recent immigrants who had not been fully Americanized were also inclined to support the King.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joan Magee|title=Loyalist Mosaic: A Multi-Ethnic Heritage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsENbI3JIo0C&pg=PA137|year=1984|publisher=Dundurn|pages=137ff|isbn=978-1459711426}}</ref>

After the war, the great majority of the half-million Loyalists remained in America and resumed normal lives. Some became prominent American leaders, such as [[Samuel Seabury (1729–1796)|Samuel Seabury]]. Approximately 46,000 Loyalists relocated to Canada; others moved to Britain (7,000), Florida, or the West Indies (9,000). The exiles represented approximately two percent of the total population of the colonies.<ref name="Pole 1994">Greene and Pole (1994) chapters 20–22</ref> Nearly all Black Loyalists left for Nova Scotia, Florida, or England, where they could remain free.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackloyalist.com/canadiandigitalcollection/story/exile/chaos.htm|title=Chaos in New York|access-date=October 18, 2007|work=Black Loyalists: Our People, Our History|publisher=Canada's Digital Collections|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117073405/http://www.blackloyalist.com/canadiandigitalcollection/story/exile/chaos.htm|archive-date=November 17, 2007}}</ref> Loyalists who left the South in 1783 took thousands of their slaves with them as they fled to the [[British West Indies]].<ref name="Pole 1994"/>