History of conservatism in the United States remaining loyal to the King, they chose King and Empire. About one in five Loyalists (70,000 or so) Loyalists left the new United States by 1783. Most went to Canada where they are still known as United Empire Loyalists. The patriots who fought in the Revolution did so in the name of preserving traditional rights of Englishmen—especially the right of "no taxation without representation"; they increasingly opposed attempts by Parliament to tax and control the fast-growing colonies. In 1773, when the British imposed heavy sanctions on the Massachusetts colony in the wake of the Boston Tea Party, self described patriots
No taxation without representation to get rid of the jurisdiction of Parliament...and they therefore refuse to send members to that assembly lest they should preclude themselves of [the] plea [that Parliament's] legislative acts...are done without their consent; which, it must be confessed, holds equally good against all laws, as against taxes...The colony advocates...tell us, that by refusing to accept our offer of representatives they...mean to avoid giving Parliament a pretence for taxing them. Edmund Burke responded to Knox, who had drawn up "The Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies Reviewed" as well as "The Present State of the Nation" (1768) under the supervision