How Did Thomas Paine Support The American Revolution

This document extract is from “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine, a pivotal pamphlet published in January 1776, from his time along the Philadelphia waterfront. This period was a critical time in American history, situated between the growing hatred of British rule and the American Revolutionary War, followed shortly by the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Paine published “Common Sense” anonymously, advocating for the colonies’ immediate independence from British rule and using their “power to begin the world over again” (Olwell 175). By challenging the legitimacy of British authority and articulating the ideals of liberty, equality, and self-governance, “Common Sense” played a crucial role in persuading colonists to support the revolutionary movement and ultimately declaring independence from …show more content…
The colonists were increasingly frustrated with the British taxation policies, lack of representation in Parliament, and violations of their natural rights. The “Common Sense” was revolutionary not only in its ideals but primarily in its wide accessibility. “He avoided the complex language and Latin phrases common in pamphlets aimed at educated readers,” allowing for its wide distribution throughout the colonies and becoming one of the most influential and successful pamphlets in political writing history (Foner 402). A particularly revealing sentence from the excerpt is “He that will promote discord, under a government so equally formed as this, would have joined Lucifer in his revolt” (Olwell 188). This sentence demonstrates Paine’s belief in the importance of unity and cooperation in the establishment of a new