The Loyalists of America and Their Times: From 1620 to 1816, Vol. 1 of 2

Egerton Ryerson's monumental two-volume history rescues a forgotten perspective from the margins of American memory. Writing in the late nineteenth century, Ryerson mounts a rigorous counterargument to the victorious Whig narrative that had long dismissed Loyalists as traitors and fools. He draws on original documents and firsthand accounts to reconstruct the worldview of those who stood by the British Crown, arguing that their story has been systematically distorted by generations of historians writing from revolutionary triumph. The first volume traces the colonial era from 1620, examining the foundational tensions between the Pilgrim tradition of tolerance and the Puritan tendency toward authoritarianism that would later split the colonies. Ryerson's purpose is both historical and polemical: he seeks to rehabilitate the Loyalist name, presenting them not as closet monarchists but as principled defenders of constitutional order and legitimate government. For readers willing to engage with a 19th-century sensibility, this work offers an invaluable window into how the losing side understood themselves.