British sympathies with the American cause

[levijackson]

In Dr. Gutzman’s lectures on the Revolution, he mentions that there were those in Parliament who sympathized with the colonists’ objections to the Stamp Act, the Intolerable Acts, etc. I was wondering if there was a segment of the populace in Britain who also sympathized with the colonists, and what the general sentiment was prior to the Declaration of Independence.

Also, any reading recommendations that cover this topic would be appreciated.

[gutzmank]

Conor Cruise O’Brien’s biography of Edmund Burke is a good place to start.

[lap gong leong]

The revisionist census is that the British Parliament did not want to go to war with their brethren.

[gutzmank]

Overwhelming Parliamentary majorities favored putting down the “rebellion” in North America. Perhaps they didn’t want war, but they voted against surrender — which, from their constitutional perspective, was the only alternative to war.

[gutzmank]

For the divergence between American and British constitutional perspectives leading up to the Revolution, see the classic _Peripheries and Center_ by Jack Greene. Greene is the greatest colonial historian of the 20th century (and he’s still at it).

[Author]

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