Patriots were Colonists who united against the British Government in the Revolutionary War. Although, at the time of the Revolution 'Patriot' was something of a negative term. What we call Patriots today were more likely to be called "Whigs" - or, if you were a Loyalist, "rebels". The Patriot motto was "No Taxation without Representation" - a great phrase for rabble-rousing, though a poor choice of catchphrase for, say, a gameshow host.