Historians estimate that slightly more than a third of the colonists were Patriots. Slightly less than a third were Loyalists. And the remaining third were simply indifferent to the outcome of the war.
I would guess that a study of France in 1789, or Europe in 1848, or Russia in 1917, or Spain in the 1930s, would find similar levels of public indifference.
Even in the most politically charged times imaginable, there will always be a lot of people to whom anything political is somebody else's problem. People to whom the government they live under is like the weather -- you just try to find ways of dealing with it, you don't even think about trying to control it.
All political plans need to take that into account.
I would guess that a study of France in 1789, or Europe in 1848, or Russia in 1917, or Spain in the 1930s, would find similar levels of public indifference.
Even in the most politically charged times imaginable, there will always be a lot of people to whom anything political is somebody else's problem. People to whom the government they live under is like the weather -- you just try to find ways of dealing with it, you don't even think about trying to control it.
All political plans need to take that into account.
