"McIntosh, Otis & Adams Are Our Demagogues": Nathaniel Coffin and the Loyalist Interpretation of the Origins of the American Revolution

Citation

Nicolson C (1996) "McIntosh, Otis & Adams Are Our Demagogues": Nathaniel Coffin and the Loyalist Interpretation of the Origins of the American Revolution. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 108, pp. 72-114. http://www.masshist.org/periodicals/proceedings.cfm

Abstract
This article is a case study of proto-Loyalist ideology and political behaviour in Massachusetts before the American Revolution. It is based on the correspondence of Nathaniel Coffin of Boston, hitherto unused by historians of the Revolution. Coffin's proximity to both Whigs and Friends of Government provides informed insights into pre-revolutionary politics that help explain the non-emergence of a Loyalist counter-revolutionary movement. The appendix provides summary data on Loyalist counter-revolutionary activity in Massachusetts, 1775-76.

Keywords
American Revolution; Nathaniel Coffin; Loyalists; Massachusetts Friends of Government; imperial crisis 1765-76; Boston Counter-Revolution; United States History Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; American loyalists; Boston (Mass) Politics and government

Journal
Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society: Volume 108

People

Dr Colin Nicolson

Senior Lecturer, History