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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 Pharaoh.' The pamphlet revealed Paine's facility as a phrasemaker -- 'The Sun never shined on a cause of greater worth"; 'Oh ye that love mankind... that dare oppose not only tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth!' -- but it was also buttressed by striking diplomatic, commercial, and political arguments from separation from Britain."
Paine, as I see it, passionately wrote the Common Sense, with convincing argument against the oppressive nature of monarchy as well as the inevitability of the new colonies to break away from their alliance with the mother kingdom that America must separate itself from England.
Overall, I see Common Sense as an insightful read that had a significant part of in the history of American independence for there are many parts of the book that can be found as a straightforward justification for independence detailing the injustices in opposition to the British monarchy. In the last part, entitled "Agrarian justice" it seemed to me that it suggested an inheritance or death tax sequentially to back a resemblance to a social security system where cash coming from the estate taxes will compensate a lump sum to the people on their 21st birthday, annual expenses to all the people over 50 as well as...
Enlightening, nevertheless is it applicable today? Yes, especially when people dwell in a country that is to say presently being exploited by a tyrant ruler.
The book left me with the impression of sorrow as well as revulsion in each fragment as strong as the pride I experienced after reading it, Paine made his point by fighting in opposition to rule by England, the disagreement in favor of self-governing rule is shaping the fight against a reign by what has been one of the most revolutionary regime in the history of the United States government.
Parts of what Paine cited may be true today and may be several of his ideas might be not easy to stand up for but I believe that he was a great believer of independence as well as believing that one must stand up and fight for his own right and must have an individual responsibility -- something that we rarely see in today's society.
References
Common Sense (2005). West's Encyclopedia of American Law. The Gale Group, Inc.
Wood, G. (2002). The American Revolution: A History. New York: Modern Library.
Nelson, C. (2007). Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations. New York: Penguin Books.
Paine, T. (2007 ed.) Common Sense. BiblioBazaar, LLC.
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
Common Sense -- Thomas Paine Thomas Paine, one of the most influential writers of the American Revolution, wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. In this short work, he incited and inspired American Patriots to declare independence from Great Britain. One author semi-jokingly called him a "corset maker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination" (PoemHunter.com, 2009). The work was one of the top best sellers of the
Moreover Thomas made people realize that kings are the cause of all wars with his evidence from the Bible: In the early ages of the world, according to the scripture chronology, there were no kings; the consequence of which was there were no wars; it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion." (Thomas Paine) Thomas was an expert in reaching down to the souls of common man and
1. What was so revolutionary about �Common-Sense� when it was first written in 1775?When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, he dared the colonists to rise against one of the world�s greatest empires and encouraged them to build their new nation as a democratic republic. Paine argued in Common Sense that the colonies should pursue complete independence from Britain (Paine, 1776). His pamphlet persuaded many people who were dubious about the
Thomas Paine's influential pamphlet, Common Sense, provided the inspiration for America's independence from Great Britain. Common sense reflected the common belief that British rule was often heavy-handed, unnecessary, and even unfounded. Thus, the success of Paine's Common Sense can be attributed to Paine's ability to tap into the beliefs of his audience, the American people. Paine's Common Sense is divided into four key sections, plus an introduction. The first section describes
In the second chapter of Common Sense, Paine wrote: "Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness Positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices." Also, Paine's philosophy was also unusually critical, compared with the singers of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, in its uncompromising embrace of a non-theologically-based state order, a state based upon