What does sunshine patriot mean?

Thomas Paine said something about it

1 Answer

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Explanation:

A Sunshine Patriot is a non-loyal soldier that supports the patriots of their country only when they are winning, and turns their backs on them when they are losing. This is the main reason why George Washington had trouble keeping soldiers during the Revolution.

What I can infer from the title 'Sunshine Soldier' is: Sunshine is bright and often seen as representing happiness, much like when one side is winning fights in a war, so more people want to fight because their side is winning. But when the sunshine is gone; when their fighting side is losing battles, the soldiers betray their comrades and leave the fight.