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The Struggle For Freedom In Thomas Paine's Common Sense

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Hostility with King George III of England was at an all-time high during 1776 in the American colonies. Americans were discouraged by the actions of their leaders across the pond. They were placed under trade and tax restrictions and lacked any privacy while English and mercenary soldiers occupied their homes. They had been battling what seemed to be an endless war. Like a child’s clothes during the shift into adulthood, as America developed, England’s restrictions tightened, and Americans started to discuss independence. The emphatic and most persuasive of these debates belonged to Thomas Paine and his pamphlet, Common Sense. His work highlighted the dispute for American freedom in a way no one had done previously and had a deep impact on the Declaration of …show more content…

He didn't want to be prisoned as a result of speaking out against British law; his obscurity was for the best, for it was the concepts in his work that quickly became popular and eventually turned Common Sense a bestseller in America during that time period. The pamphlet spread through the colonies with a distinct meaning: America needs to be liberated from Britain. Thomas Paine's work became popular for many reasons, but the most important being he used arguments, allusions and vernacular that the average person could understand. This pamphlet inspired many people to get involved in the struggle for freedom. It also prepared the Americans for the writing of the Declaration of Independence; one of the most important documents in human history. Thomas Paine’s amazing literary abilities unite the American people against the tyrannical England. The use of various themes in Common Sense exemplifies the contrast of the ethics of the New World, against the oppression of the Old World as the result of using his influential rhetoric; Ultimately producing one of the world’s most significant and successful works of

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261 Words | 2 Pages

Common Sense was published anonymously before America’s independence. It was an instant success and was quickly available in all thirteen colonies. Britain’s high taxes, particularly the Stamp and Sugar Acts, and America’s lack of representation in their own government had frustrated many colonists. The author of the pamphlet, Thomas Paine, argued for immediate independence from Britain. He framed government as nothing but a necessary evil to protect humanity from its own vices, and said that it should only be judged by its ability to protect life, liberty, and property.

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The pamphlet challenged that the British constitution was based on an ancient tyranny. Also in the pamphlet, he claimed that we, (the colonies), could make our own laws, and that we don’t have to follow the British monarchy. Thomas Paine also personally wanted Americans to become independent. The author of my source says that before the publication of Common Sense, the idea of independence was only thought of those who were viewed as radical and that Paine himself acknowledged the radicalism of his idea. See now, it took a pamphlet to truly push people towards independence.

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Do you think Thomas Paine was the one who thought out the common sense. Well he actually didn 't others like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben franklin also came up with some ideas. The common sense persuaded many to fight for independence. More than 120,000 copies were made even thought it was hard to print because of the treason going on.. Its was a bestseller.

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Thomas Paine was one of the best known political philosopher and pamphleteer back during the 18th century. “Common Sense” was the first published pamphlet that proclaimed the independence of America and one of his most famous piece of work. How did Thomas Paine influence the declaration of independence by writing “Common Sense”? “Common Sense” convinced a great amount of moderates to become patriots, additionally, some loyalist were persuaded by his writing. Also, he was able to express his feelings and wrote in a way that people commonly spoke.

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In the eighteenth century there was a mix of opposition of independence, and a hope that the new nation would become a home of freedom. Thomas Paine’s argument was that America needs to gain independence from England. Some of the reasons Paine wrote Common Sense is because of unnecessary wars, monarchial government, and the way Britain treated America. Regardless of Paine’s popularity with Common Sense, Jonathan Boucher was a minister who explained his opposition of the revolutionary movement in his sermons. He believed if God wanted America to be independent it would have happened, and it is our duty as citizens to obey the laws because we will be disobedient to God.

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Due to his many experiences while living in Great Britain, he grew a desire to fight for the oppressed and often questioned the authority the British Monarchy had over the American colony. Thomas Paine wrote an influential Pamphlet “Common Sense” a scathing attack on the monarchial tyranny over the American colony and the significance of American independence. Thomas Paine’s ideas in this pamphlet were not original, however were more accessible to the masses due to the clear and direct way he wrote. His pamphlet helped to inspire The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence contains a list of grievances against King George III and justifications for the assertion of the right for independence.

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887 Words | 4 Pages

“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind” (Paine 1). With the Revolutionary War beginning in 1775, and the publication of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, only a year later, this statement was widely recognized and addressed the issue at hand: the fight for independence. According to Paine’s assertion, America’s desire for peace and freedom is a basic necessity of life; it is what all men desire. Despite this innate thirst for liberty, many residents of America’s thirteen colonies were fearful of Great Britain, and because of this fear, complied with Great Britain’s every whim. Consequently, most colonists were hesitant to fight against the mother country for independence.

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Thomas Paine was a great writer and was the editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. Paine was strong in his beliefs and wrote Common Sense. The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense are two well known documents that share remarkably similar ideals regarding the ongoing crisis in America, but they also have some differences. Common Sense is a pamphlet consisting of forty-nine pages on why Paine believes the thirteen American colonies should break off from Great Britain. Throughout the Pamphlet, Paine creates a political argument in an attempt to rally the people together to fight for independence.

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The quotes helped individual feel worthy of themselves and inspire them to figure out ways to create a stronger future. The quote by Paine, “Give me liberty, or give me death” showed others about how important it is to stand up for yourself and for others even if it will cost their own life. Another great inspiration was “And as a man, who is attached to a prostitute, is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favor of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one.” We should be wise on who we choose to govern us. Not just anybody has the appropriate skills to use such power.

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Another reason it was so influential is because it was sold very cheaply so as many people could read it as possible. It also used “common” language and was not seen as aristocratic like the writings of Jefferson. Thomas Paine also swayed many colonists into revolution because of his anger. In Common Sense Thomas Paine seems very angry and emotionally distraught which to many people made the cause seem more apparent. Here is an example of his anger “But where, says some, is the King of America?

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The “Declaration of Independence” is widely considered by history lovers to be one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. There was another document that came really close to knocking the declaration of independence out of the water and that was written by Thomas Pain, he called it Common sense. There has been no paper in history ever written that would challenge the effect on the declaration of independence like "Common Sense” but somehow it had as great an impact on American history. This medium pamphlet, signed "Written by an Englishman," was only 48 pages. Benjamin Rush a Philadelphia physician recognized Thomas Paine's ability as a writer and encouraged him to prepare a pamphlet considering the question

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513 Words | 3 Pages

In the winter of 1776, during American Revolution, the still young America faced three major dilemmas: their seemingly imminent defeat, the moral debate between the Whigs and the British loyalists, and the panic and confusion of the American public. In efforts to settle the three American dilemmas, Thomas Paine wrote The Crisis No. 1 in December of 1776. In his work, Paine aimed to calm the American public and convince them to stand up to the British, and turn the war into an American victory. Paine was very successful in this, and his paper was proclaimed as one of the most persuasive works of the American Revolution. Paine’s

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Paine wrote the pamphlet in order to convince the American people that the time had come for independence from Great Britain. In turn, it did in fact encourage the American opinion toward independence (Ms. Susan’s Powerpoint in Dual Enrollment). What were some of the main points of Paine’s pamphlet though? Many main ideas are developed throughout Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, but what was one that stood out to me? “I have

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585 Words | 3 Pages

One of the Founding Fathers, Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet, “Common Sense”, addressed a response to the American Revolution. Paine’s purpose for writing the piece was to convince the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain. He adopts a patriotic tone, explaining the advantages of and the need to proclaim independence from a tyrannical country. Paine also utilizes multiple rhetorical strategies, and any means necessary, to persuade his audience to share in his beliefs. With the use of constructed argument and rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos and pathos, as well as diction and syntax, Paine is able to present the argument that the United States should strive for its independence from England.

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Thomas Paine essentially wrote Common Sense for the common man. Being a pamphlet, its structure and simplicity made reading easy for those who were literate. Its minimalism enabled citizens in the colonies to unite under one common cause — independence against Britain. He was inspired by both John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government as well as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s

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