PatrickHenry and David Matthews were influential people in their respective parties.Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736, in Hanover County, Virginia. Henry wasa famous patriot who fought for freedom from the British (“Patrick Henry”).Henry served as an official in the rebel army for nearly 30 years. His powerfulwords inspired many to join the Patriots. His actions caused the start of arevolution in Virginia. On the other hand, the fierce loyalist Matthews wasborn in 1739 (“David Mathews”).
He was an important figure in a secret groupthat was planning to assassinate George Washington. Matthews was a lawyer andpolitician who later served as the mayor of New York (“David Mathews”). Thefight between the loyalists and patriots was at its peak during theRevolutionary War. Patrick Henry and the Patriots had many disagreements withDavid Matthews, the British and the Loyalists.Atfirst, the colonists enjoyed the protection of the British, especially duringthe French and Indian War. The colonists were able to generate a profit bytrading goods with the British. The colonists saw themselves as equal to theBritish, but Parliament expected the colonists to obey the rules they weremaking, without any objections. The governor and the upper house of council wasappointed by the king of England.
The difference in the government was onereason that caused the colonists’ views to change. The excessive taxing by theBritish caused the colonists to rebel. In 1764 and 1765, the British passed theSugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts (“American Revolution”). The colonistsprotested these taxes by arguing that they had no rights in Parliament, soParliament had no right to tax them. However, this made things even worse asthe British added more taxes. These events led to the formation of Patriots andLoyalists.Patriotswere colonists who opposed the rule of Parliament and wanted independence (“AmericanRevolution”). As mentioned before, Patrick Henry was an especially strongpatriot and officer of the colonial army (“Patrick Henry”).
Henry believed thatthe government was meant for the people. Henry also believed that taxation tookaway property from the colonists unfairly. The people should be able to protestif they believed that the government was doing something wrong. Based on thethoughts of John Locke from England, Henry wrote a radical document that wascalled the Virginia Resolves. In this document, Henry argued that only thecolonial government had the authority to tax the colonists. The Virginia Houseof Burgesses accepted many of his resolves and eight other states acceptedresolves that were similar to Henry’s. In the First Continental Congress, Henryexclaimed, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” He also said, “The distinctionsbetween Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more(“Patrick Henry”).
“Loyalistswere “loyal” to the king and Parliament (“American Revolution”). Loyalistsconsisted mainly of farmers and artisans. Moreover, Native Americans andIndians joined the Loyalist and British cause because they wanted to preventthe colonists from taking their land and moving west. They were placed in highpositions in Parliament and other governing positions.
They were also in chargeof collecting the tax, keeping Parliament up to date with what was going on,and doing the King’s bidding. Loyalists believed that the Patriot protests wereillegal, brutal, and unnecessary (“American Revolution”). A famous loyalist wasDavid Matthews. Matthews was mainly a loyalist because he feared opposition.
Matthews believed that if the Patriots resisted the king and Parliament, therewould be a war, and the colonists had no chance to win. He hated the Patriotsbecause they had shut down many Loyalist newspapers and burned down theirhouses and offices (“David Mathews”).Thecolonists won the Revolutionary War and they wrote the Declaration of Independence.David Matthews was put under house arrest for being a part of a secret clubwhich was plotting to kill George Washington (“David Mathews”). Patrick Henrykept giving inspirational speeches about the new states and freedom (“PatrickHenry”).
In conclusion, the Patriots and the Loyalists had completely differentviews and thoughts. The Patriots wanted freedom while the Loyalists wanted tobe part of Britain. Patrick Henry and David Matthews were leaders in promotingtheir thoughts.
Eventually, the Patriots outlasted the Loyalists and thecolonists obtained freedom.
