How Did The Demise Of The Regulators

The Regulators, like the Sons of Liberty fought the corruption of the government during the years that lead up to the American Revolution. However, unlike the Sons of Liberty, the Regulators did not use violence to get their points across. They resorted to removing corrupt government officials and electing their own leaders into office. From the very beginning, the Piedmont backcountry farmers from North Carolina suffered enormous opposition from the wealthy elites, as well as the Governor of North Carolina himself. It seemed that Governor William Tryon made it his goal in life to disband the Regulators, and in the end he was successful. The Battle of Alamance proved to be the ultimate demise for the Regulators. As a result, seven people from

The term “regulator” was one of the reasons why the wealthy elites had it in for the organization. This term was first used in England in 1655, and it refers to someone appointed to adjust governmental malfunctioning (Kars, pg. 138). The Regulators themselves “were composed of religious radicals like Herman Husband, and they combined Whig political ideas with their spiritual convictions to argue that freedom of conscience required resistance to a corrupt government”(Kars, pg. 113). One of the ways the Regulators were forced to disband was the fact that the wealthy elites outnumbered Regulator supporters that were put in office. As a result, the people in office only passed laws that benefited the

The Regulators only wanted to be heard, and therefore they wrote a letter which talked about the grievances that had been enacted against them. Herman Husband was a significantly important figure for the Regulators who was able to become elected as Orange County representative in July of 1769 (Kars, pg. 170). While he was a part of the government, he was unable to bring anything to fruition that would benefit the farmers. He was either voted against, or his petitions were not even addressed. During the time of the ratification of the Johnston Riot Act, the court was able to successfully expel Husband. In a plot that involved even Governor Tryon, an arrest warrant was issued for Husbands’ because of him being a “principle mover and promotor of the late Riots” (Kars, pg. 188). Furthermore, the wealthy elite used cunning ways to discourage farmers from bringing up petitions. One way that people were persuaded not to bring their grievances to court was because, “officials promised to countersue for “malicious prosecution”” (Kars, pg. 169). Additionally, “grand juries were filled with anti-Regulators” (Kars, pg.