Books and Manuscripts

The Leading Loyalist Position Against American Independence

(Galloway, Joseph)
Historical and Political Reflections on the Rise and Progress of the American Rebellion...
London: Printed for G. Wilkie, 1780. First edition. 8vo. (viii), 135, (1) pp. Three-quarter blue calf over marbled paper-covered boards, stamped in gilt, spine browned; top edge gilt, other edges trimmed; line of text crossed out in contemporary ink at bottom of p. 107. Howes G-39; Sabin 26431; Gephart 3261; Reese, The Revolutionary Hundred 60

Leading American Loyalist Joseph Galloway's thoughts on the American Revolution. Born in Maryland in 1730, Galloway was a prominent member of Pennsylvania's Assembly in the lead-up to the Revolution, holding the position of Speaker until 1774, and representing Pennsylvania during the First Continental Congress. Committed to reconciliation with Great Britain, he opposed calls for Independence, and in May, 1775, as his position became increasingly untenable, he resigned from the Assembly. He briefly retired from public life, but during the Revolution he aided the British Army with intelligence, and during the British occupation of Philadelphia, was appointed Superintendent General of the city by General Sir William Howe. Following the British evacuation of Philadelphia, in 1779 Galloway and his daughter fled to England. He never returned to America. A prolific pamphleteer, here Galloway offers his most concise argument against American independence, writing that the American colonies should stay united with Britain, and criticizes the Revolution as having no reasonable foundation.