<P> Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs) were those colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution and in July 1776 declared the United States of America an independent nation . Their rebellion was based on the political philosophy of republicanism, as expressed by spokesmen such as Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Thomas Paine . They were opposed by the Loyalists who instead supported continued British rule . </P> <P> As a group, Patriots represented a wide array of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds . They included lawyers like John Adams and Alexander Hamilton; planters like Thomas Jefferson and George Mason; merchants like Alexander McDougall and John Hancock; and ordinary farmers like Daniel Shays and Joseph Plumb Martin . Patriots also included slaves and freemen such as Crispus Attucks, a free man and the first martyr of the American Revolution; James Armistead Lafayette, who served as a double agent for the Continental Army; and Jack Sisson, who, under the command of Colonel William Barton, was leader of the first successful black operation mission in American history, resulting in the capture of British General Richard Prescott . </P> <P> The critics of British rule called themselves "Whigs" after 1768, identifying with members of the British Whig party (including the Radical Whigs and Patriot Whigs), who favored similar colonial policies . The Oxford English Dictionary's third definition of "Patriot" is "A person actively opposing enemy forces occupying his or her country; a member of a resistance movement, a freedom fighter . Originally used of those who opposed and fought the British in the American War of Independence ." The earliest citation is a 1773 letter by Benjamin Franklin . In Britain at the time, "patriot" had a negative connotation, and was used, says Samuel Johnson, as a negative epithet for "a factious disturber of the government ." </P> <P> Prior to the Revolution, colonists who supported British authority called themselves Tories or royalists, identifying with the political philosophy then dominant in Great Britain, traditionalist conservatism . During the Revolution, these persons became known primarily as Loyalists . Afterward, many emigrated north to the remaining British territories in what is now modern Canada . There they called themselves the United Empire Loyalists . </P>

How did the colonial patriots get their name
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