Thomas Paine's Common Sense And The American Crisis

The mid-to-late 18th century and early 19th century were a tumultuous time for America. As the desire for independence grew stronger, the literature of the time reflected that need. The revolutionary period brought into focus political writings such as pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, and also speeches on the oratory side. Many of the writers of these were famous colonists, such as Samuel Adams, John Dickinson, and politicians like Benjamin Franklin. One of the most influential political writers of this age was Thomas Paine, whose most popular works include Common Sense and The American Crisis. Thomas Paine was a revolutionary who had a great impact on the revolutionary period as a genre and on patriotism as a whole because he knew how to appeal to his audience and used rhetoric in his writing. Thomas Paine was born an Englishman and came to America in late 1774, due to the recommendation of Benjamin Franklin. About a year later in January, …show more content…
He says their military ventures are “impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.” (Paine 170) He also uses religion to say how he believes that God supports America fighting for independence, “that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent.” (Paine 171)
Despite similarities with Common Sense, The American Crisis was written with a different purpose, while still impacting the genre and society. The first segment of The American Crisis was published in 1776, at a time early in the Revolution where many colonists were still unsure if war would work and in need of lifting of spirits. The pamphlet is patriotic and positive, providing a morale boost to Americans in