• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

Unfriendly to Liberty: NYC Loyalist Networks Before the Revolution

May 21, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Unfriendly to LibertyThe book Unfriendly to Liberty: NYC Loyalist Networks Before the Revolution (Cornell University Press, 2023) by Christopher F. Minty explores the origins of loyalism in the city of New York between 1768 and 1776, and revises the understanding of the coming of the American Revolution.

Through detailed analyses of those who became loyalists, Minty argues that would-be loyalists came together long before Lexington and Concord to form an organized, politically motivated, and inclusive political group that was centered around the DeLancey faction. Following the DeLanceys’ election to the New York Assembly in 1768, these men, elite and non-elite, championed an inclusive political economy that advanced the public good, and they strongly protested Parliament’s reorientation of the British Empire.

For New York loyalists, it was local politics, factions, institutions, and behaviors that governed their political activities in the build up to the American Revolution. By focusing on political culture, organization, and patterns of allegiance, Unfriendly to Liberty shows how the contending allegiances of loyalists and patriots were all but locked in place by 1775 when British troops marched out of Boston to seize caches of weapons in neighboring villages.

Indeed, local political alignments that were formed in the imperial crises of the 1760s and 1770s provided a critical platform for the divide between loyalists and patriots in New York City. Political and social disputes coming out of the Seven Years’ War, more than republican radicalization in the 1770s, forged the united force that would make the city of New York a center of loyalism throughout the American Revolution.

Christopher F. Minty is an editor at the Center for Digital Editing at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Stirling, and has received fellowships from the British Library, Harvard University, the New-York Historical Society, the New York State Archives, the New York State Library, and the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, among others. He previously served as assistant editor of The Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society and managing editor of The John Dickinson Writings Project. He lives in Astoria, NY, with his wife and daughter.

Book Purchases made through this Amazon link support the New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State. Books noticed on the New York Almanack have been provided by their publishers.

See more new books HERE.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Books, History, New York City Tagged With: American Revolution, Loyalism, Manhattan, Military History, New York City, Political History

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elise Hill says

    May 25, 2023 at 12:38 AM

    Important and fascinating history, thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support The Almanack

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • Michele Cogley on Albany’s Anneke Jans Bogardus, Indecent Exposure, Trinity Church & The Bowery
  • Bob Hest on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Beth on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Kathleen Quinby on Cremona to Central Park: Stradivari & Nahan Franko’s Legacy
  • Editorial Staff on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Big Burly on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Bob Hest on Adirondack Railroad Passenger Train Originating in Tupper Lake
  • Luis R on Manhattan Street Names Tied to Slavery Listed from A to Z
  • Robert Luthart on ATV Minimum Age Bill Passes Both Houses
  • Bob Meyer on Equal Justice for All *

Recent New York Books

Without Concealment, Without Compromise
Washington’s Marines
Major General Israel Putnam hero of the American Revolution
v is for victory
The Motorcycle Industry in New York State
weeds of the northeast
Putting Out the Planetary Fire: An Introduction to Climate Action and Advocacy
Seneca Ray Stoddard An Intimate Portrait of an Adirondack Legend
rebels at sea
The Great New York Fire of 1776

Secondary Sidebar

Mohawk Valley Trading Company Honey, Honey Comb, Buckwheat Honey, Beeswax Candles, Maple Syrup, Maple Sugar
preservation league