Divided Loyalties

Together with Old Bristol Historical Society, LCHA is pleased to present a lecture that examines the American Revolution through a unique lens with Michael Dekker as he presents Divided Loyalties: Loyalists and the American Revolution as a Civil War in Maine.

The American Revolution was not just a break from Imperial Great Britain – it was America’s first civil war. In Maine, neighbors, families, and communities were divided by competing notions of patriotism. Divided Loyalties examines how intimidation, coercion, and legal sanctions were used to enforce ideological conformity, as well as the strategies employed by individuals who resisted these pressures.

Through the experiences of ordinary people, the program exposes the harsh realities of mob violence, political disenfranchisement, and personal recrimination during the Revolution in Maine. The presentation concludes by tracing how deep social and political fractures were mended after the war, revealing the processes through which individuals and communities sought reconciliation, stability, and renewed cohesion in the aftermath of the American Revolution.