Excerpt from Tories of New Hampshire in the War of the Revolution The Word "Tory," although it has been variously modified by circumstances from its earliest use as applied to the outlawed Papists of Ireland in the reign of Charles II, down to its giving way to the present term, "Conservative," has always had a negative significance, an idea of opposition to political changes and a reverence for the existing order of government. To use a modern synonym, the Tories were always "stand-patters." Since the Restoration, a Tory's political opponent has always been a Whig, the forefather of the Liberal of present-day English politics. The Whig was always the restless, ambitious, progressive element, eager for a change, without necessarily having established the fact that the change would be practical or beneficial to his party. During the Revolution, and since in America, as might be expected in view of the victory of the opposition, the word "Tory" acquired a peculiarly ignominious meaning which did not pertain to its earlier use. It came by common consent to be used as almost synonymous with the word "traitor." Had the Tory party been victorious in the struggle the same significance would have been forced upon the word Whig. The word "Tory" was applied indiscriminately to all who refused or failed to support the Revolutionary movement, regardless of their reasons for so doing, or of the degree of activity they displayed against that movement. The Tories applied to themselves the name "Loyalist," a term respectable and admirable in its meaning, but not definite per se. A man may be loyal to anything to which he has once attached himself, his country, his church, his superior officer, or his wife. The Loyalists were loyal to their King. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.