Divided Loyalties: Loyalists and the American Revolution as a Civil War in Maine with speaker Michael Dekker

Together with Old Bristol Historical Society, LCHA is pleased to present a lecture that examines the American Revolution through a unique lens:

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.

Historian Mike Dekker specializes in 17 th and 18th-century Maine and New England. He is the author of the book The French and Indian Wars In Maine and is a contributing author to the book 1718-2018: Reflections on 300 Years of the Scots Irish in Maine. Mike offers talks and educational programming on a range of topics, including the 17th-century cod fishing industry and its relation to the current state of the Gulf of Maine fisheries. He regularly provides living history programming pertaining
to 17th-century Maine at the Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site.