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¶ … Common Sense by Thomas Paine, and the Declaration of Independence as to which had a greater or stronger effect on the colonists. This essay will ultimately suggest that the Declaration of Independence was a more effective document due to its ability to reform the colonies into a republic. This essay will first describe Common Sense and its impact before doing the same with the Decleartaion of Independence.
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by an outspoken colonist rebel named Thomas Paine. Paine's intent of this writing was to summon emotional and political support for those wishing to revolt against the British Monarchy. Common Sense was written in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence, and they both had a complimentary impact on their historic value due to this timing.
Common Sense is a rallying cry for those wishing a better life, and more freedom to stand up against the unfair taxation and treatment that was being handed out by the hands of the British. The argument contained in the writing is valid, but Paine's use of emotion and exaggeration perhaps, relegates this important document to more of a piece of political propaganda. If anything Paine's Common sense stands as a prominent piece of propoaganda that demonstrates the power...
The document was challenging and, like Paine, compared the British to an evil tyranny that was unfairly treating the colonists. Jefferson's style and tone was representative of his statesman stature and corralled more of the collective's leadership energy towards a goal of breaking away from their rulers.
The Declaration of Independence is essentially more effective due to Jefferson's ability to protest in a more effective manner that could be rallied around by others seeking the same goals as Paine and Jefferson. The format of the writing also impacted its historical resonance as the formal approach used by Jefferson allows the document to stand as a piece that an entire nation can be built upon. While Paine's efforts were not unhelpful, they were not used to be an explicitly organizing effort. Paine was more of a cheerleader, and Jefferson's writing helped the cause more because of its explicit demands and forthright tone.
References
Jefferson, T. (1952). Declaration of independence. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Paine, T. (2004). Common sense. Broadview Press.
Common Sense The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines common sense as: "the unreflective opinions of ordinary people," and "sound and prudent but often unsophisticated judgment." While this definition is reflective of the nature of common sense, it does not begin to reveal the complexities of the subjectivity of the term, and the tendency to cite common sense as a justification for stereotypes, both of which reflect the social perspective of the speaker. The
Indeed, in retrospect, my personal issues, no matter how stringent they might have been, should not have stayed in the way of exercising my common sense in the relationship with the rest of the individuals. From this perspective, it is most likely that I should have followed what the son of the writer Harriet Beecher Stowe, C.E. Stowe said in relation to common sense, that "common sense is the knack
Common sense could, at face value, have several definitions applied to it: Firstly, it is 'common' in that all agree to the idea and accept it as obvious. No amount of research or investigation need go into establishing its existence or reasons for its propositions in order that one accept it. It is self-evident, therefore of sound judgment, therefore, no doubt, accepted by the 'normal' rational person. Using a circular
Common Sense & Fed # Thomas Paine: Common Sense Thomas Paine argues in Common Sense that America should declare independence from Great Britain because submission to, or dependence on, Great Britain tends to directly involve the colonies in European wars and quarrels and sets them at odds with nations that would otherwise "seek our friendship, and against whom, we have neither anger nor complaint."[footnoteRef:1] [1: Thomas Paine, "Common Sense." Constitution Society (1776).
Most nations have let slip the opportunity, and have been compelled to receive laws from their conquerors (Paine). Democracy, the republic, voting, the Supreme Court, debate, etc. are no longer foreign concepts -- the great American "experiment" of 1776 still exists, so contemporary readers do not find issues of individual liberty and law to be either controversial or strange. Common Sense was a seminal event in the way the entire
" To quote the Encyclopedia of World Biography's entry on Thomas Paine (2004) "his contributions included an attack on slavery and the slave trade. His literary eloquence received recognition with the appearance of his 79-page pamphlet titled Common Sense (1776). Here was a powerful exhortation for immediate independence. Americans had been quarreling with Parliament; Paine now redirected their case toward monarchy and to George III himself -- a 'hardened, sullen tempered