Sometimes a suspected Loyalist would find an effigy
hung on a tree before his own door with a hint that next time the
figure might be himself. A musket ball might come whizzing
through his window. Many a Loyalist was stripped, plunged in a
barrel of tar, and then rolled in feathers, taken sometimes from
his own bed.
Punishment for loyalism was not, however, left merely to chance.
Even before the Declaration of Independence, Congress, sitting
itself in a city where loyalism was strong, urged the States to
act sternly in repressing Loyalist opinion. They did not obey
every urging of Congress as eagerly as they responded to this
one. In practically every State Test Acts were passed and no one
was safe who did not carry a certificate that he was free of any
suspicion of loyalty to King George. Magistrates were paid a fee
for these certificates and thus had a golden reason for insisting
that Loyalists should possess them. To secure a certificate the
holder must forswear allegiance to the King and promise support
to the State at war with him. An unguarded word even about the
value in gold of the continental dollar might lead to the adding
of the speaker's name to the list of the proscribed. Legislatures
passed bills denouncing Loyalists.
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