According to the passage, Loyalism during the American Revolutionary War served the function of ______.

A．eliminating the disputes that existed among those colonists who supported the rebel cause
B．drawing upper, as opposed to lower, socioeconomic classes away from the rebel cause
C．tolerating the kinds of socioeconomic discontent that were not allowed to exist on the rebel side
D．absorbing members of socioeconomic groups on the rebel side who felt themselves in contention with members of other socioeconomic groups