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How Did Thomas Paine Contribute To Independence

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Americans had a very hard time breaking ties with England and becoming their own nation. Thomas Paine played a very important role in the liberty of American history. His pamphlet “Common Sense” laid down the foundation for the complete freedom of America, granted in 1776. He argued for two main points: independence from England and the creation of a democratic republic. Paine had many effective and influential arguments in his pamphlet Common Sense, but the three most important were that the colonies should have freedom, balance, and equality. He believed that the colonies should be independent against British rule. In attempting to convince the colonists that they should leave, Paine describes England as an abusive partner in a corrupt relationship. …show more content…

When the colonists figured this out, they became ungovernable. They refused to obey the instructions of royal governors, who suppressed meetings of assemblies which criticized the right of the king in parliament to legislate the colonies. He believes there should not be a hereditary monarchy and instead have a ruler that wants to be a king and can do his job well. This makes sense because most of the kings that the throne was passed down to were very young and usually not wise. 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 throws mankind into confusion. Paine threw in this biblical reference to the world with no kings yet God granted the Jews only one even though he was angry. Paine questioned that if God was the true King, why would there be a need for Parliament? He then, in turn, concludes that monarchy is a sin and is a disgrace. By including the biblical reference, Paine’s pamphlet appealed to more people. This is because if the people of this time were even able to get one book, it would have been the

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Common Sense made an unquestionable argument for independence from England and called the revolution not only achievable, but inevitable. A significant portion of Common Sense is dedicated to attacking the monarchy of England as an institution. Even though Paine constantly criticized many different religions, including Christianity, Paine still uses several scriptures from the Bible to argue that the British monarchy has originated in sin and is ungodly in an effort to appease many of the religious Americans. Other segments of his pamphlet spoke of the British oppression that they were facing and even if they came to an agreement with

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1069 Words | 5 Pages

Common Sense vs. Plain Truth The battle for independence in America during 1776 was indeed a complex issue requiring the involvement of intellectuals to air their own views regarding the best move that British colonies could make toward gaining independence. At the time, two famous individuals, Thomas Paine and James Chalmers, appeared disagreeing to matters concerning the giant step of gaining independence from the central government in Britain. While Thomas Paine was a patriot who wrote Common Sense with the intention of enlightening Americans the greater benefit they would gain by separating from British rule, James Chalmers who wrote Plain Truth was a loyalist to the British rule and saw it as a wrong move and a beginning for a lot of problems.

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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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Thomas Paine’s pamphlet “Common Sense,” Paine lists reasons as to why the colonies should unite and separate from England. Paine argues strongly the point of “Monarchy and Hereditary Succession” really well by explaining the state of inequality of man and the inadequacy of hereditary succession. In this section, Thomas Paine argues the ignorance of having a monarch and the biblical beliefs against it as it creates an unequal society and transgressions.

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I agree with many of Paine’s arguments such as the problems with a monarchical government and America’s potential to obtain independence. I feel as if Paine’s argument pertaining to the need for a just government to be the most compelling. The fact that humans are not perfect is the reason why we have to have order and a commonwealth. In conclusion, Common Sense was written by Thomas Paine to reason with the citizens of America, to persuade them to fight for independence from the British government.

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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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In summarization, he says reconciliation will bring ruin because of the British desire to advance at the expense of America and Great Britain’s inability to protect or govern the colonies due to its distance from the continent (page 36-40). By providing numerous logical responses to arguments opposing the formation of America into its own state, Paine assures worries common among colonists, gaining even more advocates for American

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Throughout the excerpts of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” he makes many compelling points on why America during that time was in the perfect position for independence. In the first paragraph Paine writes about how the economy of the colonies could thrive if they were not under the rule of the Britain. He makes points on how if America was not limited in trade by Britain and the colonies had its own legislative branch the economy would be a lot stronger. In the second paragraph Thomas Paine talks about how in the past if the colonies tried to rebel their military would not have been ready but during the time “Common Sense” was written the American military was ready. Another factor in why Paine supported Colonist independence was because it was

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Henry, in agreement to Paine, also expresses that the King has reached a point where he does not care of the colonists and treats them as inferior, Henry is hinting at the point that Britain is just hurting the colonists (Henry). Not only does he express this he concludes with this quote: “Why stand we here idle?... Give me liberty or give me death” (Henry). Paine and Henry and Paine both suggest that a revolution should commence due to the pain inflicted and subordination inflicted. Why should the colonists not

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766 Words | 4 Pages

Common Sense was an important stepping stone towards independence. Thomas Paine was a person who advocated and supported egalitarian principles. He believed that all people are equal and deserved equal rights and opportunities. Thomas goal was to influence to people in the Thirteen Colonies to stand for independence from Great Britain. The thirteen colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America.

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654 Words | 3 Pages

This essay will be discussing and analyzing the document: Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was an American founding father and very influential in the the enlightenment movement that started in 1714. Thomas Paine wrote common sense so people would begin thinking and discussing the way the British had been treating the colonies in the recent years. Paine believed that King George and the British parliament were tyrannical and that the colonies should do something about it. Common Sense appealed to many of the colonists because of the plain language Thomas Paine used.

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635 Words | 3 Pages

Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affected, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interested (Paine, 1776)”. Thomas Paine disagrees with the British government and the way they handling business he encouraged Americas to declare their independence. The Declaration of independence was a documented created by Thomas Jefferson that announced the split from the colonies and Great Britain, it. The Declaration of Independence states “we hold these…all men are created equal...with certain unalienable rights...that when any form of government becomes destructive... It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it (Jefferson, 1776)”.

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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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182 Words | 1 Pages

On January 10, 1776 (during the American Revolution) Thomas Paine published a pamphlet titled “Common Sense”. In this he sets his arguments in favor of American independence, the pamphlet was written in clear and persuasive prose. It inspired people in the Thirteen colonies to declare and fight for egalitarian government from Great Britain and because of this the pamphlet was an immediate sensation. The pamphlet was originally published anonymously and was one of the most influential pamphlets in America.

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