Re-reading the American Revolution from north of the 49th parallel
The cause of loyalty is the cause of law and order, of liberty and property, of every blessing that can make life desirable.
—Jonathan Boucher, 1775.
Welcome to The Loyalist Papers, a writing project reflecting on the legacy of the American Revolution from a distinctly Canadian perspective. Over the course of 198 weeks, We are revisiting each of the eighty-five essays known as The Federalist Papers and offering Our Own Loyalist response in service to King and country. Our aim is to weigh whether the arguments put forward by the Framers of the United States Constitution have stood the test of time against the Westminster system – the true inheritance of the Thirteen Colonies.
Loyalist № 21. The American Revolution rejected experience in favour of abstract reason. In hastily casting off the Empire, the Founders embraced the blank slate of political rationalism. Their act of collective forgetting has led to an imperial Presidency with a tendency to operate outside strict constitutional limits. Can a Republic ever match the deep memory of the British monarchy?
Notice from the Editorial Board: We are raising the standard. While We await a refit of Our presses with a sturdier, London-forged type, The Loyalist Papers is adapting to a more deliberate cadence. Our aim is to deepen the project’s purpose and ensure Our responses reflect the enduring stability of Westminster democracy.
Loyalist № 20. Who are "the people" when the law refuses to name them? There is a structural silence at the heart of the American founding – a deliberate decision to leave suffrage to the States. From the shadow of the three-fifths compromise to the unenviable inheritance of modern populism, the question remains: what happens when a popular democracy is built on a definition that was never meant...
The Loyalist Papers is taking an end-of-year pause. The project will resume on January 20, 2026.
Loyalist № 19. Hamilton warned that formulas for fairness would only breed jealousy. Canada built Confederation on equalization, promising equity among Provinces through fiscal federalism. Our Dominion, however, will only endure not by quotas and ledgers but by remembering Our shared allegiance to the Crown.
Loyalist № 18. Might the Empire have prevented the American Revolution by expanding Westminster into an Imperial Parliament? One of many proposals that were put forward by American and British Statesmen alike, demographics would have doomed it to failure. Canada's Confederation offered a new way forward in loyalty to the Crown.
Loyalist № 17. The machinery of a republic must be carefully regulated. When the energy of government rises unchecked, it risks surging into tyranny; when it declines too far, it stalls into gridlock or chaos. The role of institutions, as the Founders envisioned, is to maintain this equilibrium – preserving a government vigorous enough to act decisively yet restrained enough to protect liberty.
Loyalist № 16. Democracy needs more than elections. Madison defended an appointed Senate not as a barrier to the popular will, but as its ballast. Our first Canadian Prime Minister agreed: some institutions must stand apart from partisan winds. In Canada, as in the early republic, not all wisdom comes by vote.
The new Explore feature offers concepual entry points into the canon – from enduring First Principles of governance to pivotal Turning Points in history. A full tag index is also available for those who prefer to browse freely.
Loyalist № 15. The Framers believed that regular reviews would guard against military overreach. Unlike Britain – where oversight grew out of war, oppression, and hard-won tradition – America built its safeguards on reason alone. But history suggests that civic memory, not argument, is the most enduring foundation of liberty.