Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution, and became an immediate sensation. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. In ...
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Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution, and became an immediate sensation. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history. As of 2006, it remains the all-time best selling American title, and is still in print today. Common Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which before the pamphlet had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration. He connected independence with common dissenting Protestant beliefs as a means to present a distinctly American political identity, structuring Common Sense as if it were a sermon. Historian Gordon S. Wood described Common Sense as "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era".
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A failure in business, Thomas Paine emigrated from England to America in 1774. In early 1776, he published a pamphlet entitled Common Sense. In this tract, Paine argues that the American colonies ought to part from England and establish their own nation. Paine discusses the origins of society and government, the evils of monarchy and hereditary succession, and the rule of law; his disdain for monarchy is an underlying theme of the work. Paine also emphasizes the urgency of independence; he maintains that the time for reconciliation between the colonies and England has passed and the time for independence is now. The leather bound version of Common Sense (the subject of this review) includes background information and a chronology of the life of Thomas Paine. This book is best read from the perspective of an American colonist in 1776; he or she would have remembered the Intolerable Acts and the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. Just as The Federalist Papers are essential reading in understanding the Constitution, Common Sense is essential reading in understanding the move toward independence in 1776.