Years of neglect in the mother country had allowed America's fledgling democracy to gain power, but by 1760 America had become the biggest and fastest-growing part of the British economy, and Britain required tribute. When the revolution came to New York City, it tore apart a community that was already riven by deep-seated familial, political, religious, and economic antagonisms. Focusing on a number of individuals, Divided Loyalties describes their response to increasingly drastic actions taken in London by a succession of the king's ministers, which finally forced people to take sides and decide whether they would continue their loyalty to Great Britain or cast their lot with the American insurgents.

Using fascinating detail to draw us into history's narrative, Richard M. Ketchum explains why men with similar life experiences-even members of the same family-chose different sides when the war erupted.