Actually, Edmund Burke was the leader of the Whig party at the time of the revolution and he clearly was Pro Colonist and a great champion for the American revolutionary cause. In that frame of mind the Whigs were closer to Jackson Democrats of civil war era.

As for today, painting with a very broad brush, Tories of 1776 would likely have more in common with folks who believe in strong central government, (i.e. the King) protectionism, highly regulated tariffs/excise taxes, class/caste social systems, and oppose redistribution of income systems. I'm not sure either major modern party fits that viewpoint very well right now. So I'm not sure it behooves us to try to translate the party politics of 200 plus years ago to the current situation.

Remember, Thomas Hart Benton, Senator from Missouri had been a scion of the populist Jackson Democrats for years but when his influence began to fade he was quick to jump into the new Republican party. As for the Whigs, their positions became increasing untenable (I like to think of them using another good Missouri phrase, MugWamps, Mug on one side of the fence, Wamp on the other) and as a result they just disappeared. I think far too many people get caught in the illusion that the Whigs became the Republican Party. Not so. The Whigs were replaced as the second major party on the national stage by the Republican party and were relegated to 3rd party status along with the Constitutional Unionists by the 1864 election.

John R.