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American Revolution--NJ's Role

New Jersey's Role in the American Revolution

It frequently seems that whenever great wars occur the story of that conflict is recorded for history mostly from the point of view of the victor. The treatments received by the vanquished in text accounts and other commemorations of the events are routinely ignored or minimized. Little attention is paid to the case to be made for the defeated unless some committed supporters of the defeated group remains to keep their point of view alive. The continued contemporary interest in the cause and the commitment of the people of the Confederacy in the American Civil War stands out as a notable example.

On this portion of the Electronic New Jersey website you will be able to read the opinions of those who favored separation from Great Britain, of those who were uncertain or unconcerned as to their allegiances and those who viewed opposition to the rebellion as treason to the new nation.

Two hundred and twenty years later it is easy to proclaim that one would have been a patriot. But two hundred years ago it was difficult to state without debate and discord who were the patriots and who were the traitors.

  • How would you have defined loyalty in 1776?
  • If you intended to be loyal to the Crown, how would you explain your reasons for being loyal to the King?
  • If you were a revolutionary, what reasons would you give for supporting extraordinary measures to separate yourself from Great Britain?