<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>

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