På hvilket spørgsmål er mange loyalister og patrioter enige?
Patriot (American Revolution)
Historikere har udforsket de motiver, der fik mænd til at vælge den ene eller den anden side. Yale-historikeren Leonard Woods Labaree brugte de offentliggjorte og uofficielle skrifter og breve fra ledende mænd på begge sider og søgte at finde ud af, hvordan personligheden formede deres valg. Han finder otte karakteristika, der adskilte de to grupper.  Loyalisterne var ældre, bedre etableret og mere tilbøjelige til at modstå fornyelse end patrioterne. Loyalisterne mente, at kronen var den legitime regering, og at modstand mod den var moralsk forkert, mens patrioterne mente, at moralen var på deres side, fordi den britiske regering havde krænket englændernes forfatningsmæssige rettigheder. Mænd, der blev fremmedgjort af fysiske angreb på kongelige embedsmænd, indtog loyalisternes holdning, mens de, der blev fornærmet over det hårdhændede britiske styre, blev patrioter.  Købmænd i havnebyerne med langvarige økonomiske tilknytninger til det britiske imperium var tilbøjelige til at forblive loyale over for systemet, mens kun få patrioter var så dybt indviklet i systemet. Nogle loyalister var ifølge Labaree "procrastinators", der mente, at uafhængigheden ville komme en dag, men som ønskede at "udskyde øjeblikket", mens patrioterne ønskede at "gribe øjeblikket". Loyalisterne var forsigtige og bange for anarki eller tyranni, der kunne komme af pøbelstyret; patrioterne gjorde en systematisk indsats for at tage stilling mod briterne. Endelig hævder Labaree, at loyalisterne var pessimister, som manglede patrioternes tillid til, at uafhængigheden lå forude.
Patriot (American Revolution)
Historians have explored the motivations that pulled men to one side or the other. Yale historian Leonard Woods Labaree used the published and unpublished writings and letters of leading men on each side, searching for how personality shaped their choice. He finds eight characteristics that differentiated the two groups.  Loyalists were older, better established, and more likely to resist innovation than the Patriots. Loyalists felt that the Crown was the legitimate government and resistance to it was morally wrong, while the Patriots felt that morality was on their side because the British government had violated the constitutional rights of Englishmen. Men who were alienated by physical attacks on Royal officials took the Loyalist position, while those who were offended by heavy-handed British rule became Patriots.  Merchants in the port cities with long-standing financial attachments to the British Empire were likely to remain loyal to the system, while few Patriots were so deeply enmeshed in the system. Some Loyalists, according to Labaree, were "procrastinators" who believed that independence was bound to come some day, but wanted to "postpone the moment", while the Patriots wanted to "seize the moment". Loyalists were cautious and afraid of anarchy or tyranny that might come from mob rule; Patriots made a systematic effort to take a stand against the British. Finally, Labaree argues that Loyalists were pessimists who lacked the Patriots' confidence that independence lay ahead.
Patriot (American Revolution)