it may be admitted, took a
rather selfish and an unprincipled view of the whole dispute, and who,
counting on the probable, if not inevitable, success of the British arms
in such a conflict, adopted the Loyalist side, not for conscience' sake,
but for profit's sake, and in the expectation of being rewarded for
their fidelity by offices and titles, and especially by the confiscated
estates of the rebels after the rebels themselves should have been
defeated, and their leaders hanged or sent into exile.

"As composing still another class of Tories, may be mentioned probably a
vast majority of those who stood for the commercial interests, for the
capital and tangible property of the country, and who, with the
instincts natural to persons who have something considerable to lose,
disapproved of all measures for pushing the dispute to the point of
disorder, riot and civil war.

"Still another class of Loyalists was made up of people of professional
training and occupation--clergymen, physicians, lawyers, teachers--a
clear majority of whom seem to have been set against the ultimate
measures of the Revolution.

"Finally, and in general, it may be said that a majority of those who,
of whatever occupation, of whatever grade of culture or of wealth, would
now be described as conservative people, were Loyalists during the
American Revolution."[5]

These classes prior to the Revolution had largely shaped and molded
public opinion; but their opposition to the movement which they were
powerless to prevent, destroyed their influence, for the time being, in
American politics. The place which they had hitherto held in public
esteem was filled by a new class of leaders more in sympathy with the
newly born spirit of liberalism. This gave to the revolutionary movement
a distinctly democratic character.

This drift toward democracy is seen in the changes made in the state
constitutions after the outbreak of the Revolution. At the close of the
colonial period, nearly all the state governments were modeled after the
government of Great Britain. Each colony had its legislative body
elected by the qualified voters and corresponding in a general way to
the House of Commons. In all the colonies except Pennsylvania and
Georgia there was also an upper legislative house or council whose
consent was necessary before laws could be enacted. The members
composing this branch of the legislature were appointed by the governor
except in Massachusetts w