patriot- you want to keep your independence in the country
loyalist- you want to stay loyal England. the possibility that England could gain control again is the in the air. A lot of people used to still buy goods from england so they didn’t want their support of the new americans to intervene.
Fence-sitter. there is no way to know for sure if england or the colonies are going to win, so they stay neutral. to protect themselves and their families
