Inspired by this thread. Why were (are?) Loyalists referred to as “Tories” in the US?
When I was growing up in Ontario, Canada, we learned about Loyalists in history class, as well as becoming familiar with local places that were settled by Loyalists: Kingston, Belleville, and so on. We never called them “Tories.” That may have been because here in Canada, “Tories” is a slang term for the federal and provincial Conservative parties; but possibly also because in terms of our history, they were Loyalists, period. Nothing further was needed. Of course, I understand that in the eyes of the United States, they were not “loyal,” but from where did they get the appelation “Tories”?
So, my question: Why were (and are) the Loyalists referred to as “Tories” in the United States?
Rereading my OP for possible ambiguity, I should add that I don’t think Americans are wrong for calling those who were loyal to the Crown in 1776, “Tories.” If that term remains in use in the US, and in American history classes, and in popular use amongst Americans, that’s fine. We in Canada may call such people something else, and that’s fine too. I’m just interested in knowing where the term came from, and why it was applied to the folks I know as “Loyalists.”
The “Tories” moniker originates in the English parliament with the faction that supported the succession of James II (A Catholic) and were generally opposed to the Whigs (also the name of a political faction in later US politics.)
In later years the term was applied to anyone in English politics taking a traditionalist view of the power of the monarchy over Parliament, and opposing the gradual shift of power to Parliament. Since American loyalists were seen as “siding with the king,” the label was applied to them.
Because the loudest Whigs in England called Lord North a Tory (because he didn’t belong to their faction), so the American rebels, before they started calling themselves “Patriots,” called themselves “Whigs” in opposition to Lord North’s policies toward the colonies, and therefore the loyalists were Tories. After the adoption of the Constitution, the Whig party in the U.S. opposed a strong president, as the Whigs in England opposed a strong king.
And to round out this history, the Whigs were a fairly powerful force in American politics until not long before the Civil War (Lincoln was a Whig for a while), when they tore themselves up over the issue of slavery. Prior to that, the party, like much of American politics, tried to steer a course that would offend neither slaveholding nor abolitionist interests; when that became impossible the party ceased to exist and the abolitionists joined the Republicans, a strong abolitionist party, who would go on to elect Lincoln.
It’s an interesting reminder of the fact that no political party has a right to exist.
I’d just like to add that the term “Loyalist” is used in the US as well. “Tory” is informal and not something commonly used in textbooks, on monuments, etc.