Common Sense is a pamphlet by Thomas Paine, who has claimed the title of being The Father of the American Revolution. This pamphlet was written in a way common people could understand and it was often passed around at taverns. This pamphlet outlined reasons why the colonies should separate from Britain. Some of the reasons stated were because the British monarchy at the time had too much power, there was room for expansion in America but it could only be done without being attached to Britain, and because Britain was in so much debt at the time that it would have been difficult to surpass it. A majority of British colonists agreed with Thomas Paine so much so that there was a Revolutionary War. Many events led up to the Revolutionary War but …show more content…
After the French and Indian War the colonies had to provide new revenues to Britain in the form of taxes to pay for the war (Revolutionary Boston-Stamp). To help gain more money, Britain created numerous acts such as, The Sugar Act of 1764, The Currency Act of 1764, The Stamp Act of 1765, and The Tea Act of 1773. All of these acts were created after the French and Indian War, and in their own way were intended to help Great Britain gain more money. Thomas Paine declared in Common Sense “Britain is oppressed with debt...America is without debt.” (For the Record 111). This quote illustrates in a great way that America would be simply better off financially without Britain. Without being attached to Britain, there would not be any taxes that would be going straight to Britain and the colonies would have a better chance at getting loans from other countries because they did not have debt already. Even though the colonists were paying taxes to the British, they were not treated like citizens, and did not receive any of the positive benefits of paying those taxes which led to the Revolutionary …show more content…
Trade has always been an important aspect to insure survival. At the time Britain was inherently forcing the colonies to attain certain things such as paper and glass from Britain, and no where else. Even though this might not have been helping the colonies, it was another way Britain could earn money. As declared in John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania it was not until the Stamp Act that the British Parliament thought “of imposing duties in America for the purpose of raising a revenue.” Before that time it seemed as if all Britain was doing was using their legal authority to regulate trade in the colonies that were a part of Great Britain, which makes sense (For the Record 103). But shortly after the French and Indian War ended, Britain imposed the Stamp Act. Another trade related reason that caused the American Revolution is mentioned in Common Sense: Britain was surrounded by other Kingdoms which would make it easy for other power to go to war with them. If this would have ever happened, trade in America would be ruined. It would be extremely difficult to survive if one could not import necessities from another. The trade related rules imposed on the colonies were one sided to only benefit the
Thomas Paine, a revolutionary and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, wrote the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, and it inspired the colonists in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain. He gave many reasons for the colonists to support colonial independence. Some reasons Paine gave were Great Britain is thousand of miles away from the colonist which made communication a problem and Great Britain is only an island so it’s weird for an island to govern a continent.
England-born political philosopher and persuasive pamphleteer , Thomas Paine helped shape many of the ideas that marked the Age of Revolution. Considered by many to be one of the most influential pamphlets in United States history, Paine’s Common Sense (1776) was published during the American Revolution and utilized many rhetorical strategies in order to persuade his audience to share his view. Through his use of rhetorical devices, such as syntax and diction, Paine displays his argument that the American Colonists should strive for independence away from England. He believed that independence was the right and “obligation” of the American colonists to part from the oppressive rule of its mother-country.
The Declaration of Independence was an influential document that was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Common Sense was authored by Thomas Paine and was read by millions at the time of its publishing. The Declaration and Paine’s pamphlet attempted to improve the state of the American colonists. Both documents assume a form of social contract, in which governments are not inherently endowed with power but instead govern with the consent of the governed, and can and should be replaced when they no longer serve their citizens. Both documents emphasize that the Colonies had made every effort to reconcile with the King of England, but argue that the English monarchy is unresponsive to the needs of its citizens in the Colonies and
Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense on January 10, 1776 in which he put forth many effective and assuring reasons as to why the colonies should fight for complete independence from the king’s rule and no longer conform to a significantly smaller island thousands of miles across the sea. Around the time when this argumentative piece was published, tensions with Britain were at their peak and colonies were extremely agitated with the number of taxes and trade restrictions imposed on them. Additionally, British soldiers had been great nuisances to American people as they occupied our towns and ultimately prohibiting the colonies from ever progressing. As Britain kept tightening its grip on the colonies, Thomas Paine, one of the many
In the American Revolution, Tories questioned giving up the stable government and protection of the British in return for an unknown American government ("Better a tyrant 3000 miles away than 1000 tyrants 3 miles away" or something like that). Fears of a possible move to remove the elite from positions of power further disquieted them. Patriots, on the other hand, approved the reasoning of Thomas Paine in Common Sense and Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence and supported war with Britain in an ultimately successful effort to gain independence.
It was only a matter of time until the colonists were fed up with the government over using the power they were given. The colonies were just a source of income for Britain at that point and the colonists felt that they could do better things on their own than under British rule. Paine stated, “I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation, to shew, a single advantage that this continent can reap, by being connected with Great Britain. I repeat the challenge, not a single advantage is derived. Our corn will fetch its price in any market in Europe, and our imported goods must be paid for buy them where we will.”
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was a pamphlet he wrote to encourage Americans to rebel against the British which led to the American Revolution and America gaining its independence. Paine thesis was destroying America’s loyalty to the British and convince them to revolt. In the pamphlet Paine’s strong thesis on American rebellion on British oppression and some strong key points Paine discussed led to encouragement for the American People to rebel against the British and gaining their independence. Paine sections his pamphlet to four sections called of The Origin and Design of Government in General”, “Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession”, “Thoughts on the Present State of Affairs in America” and, “On the Present Ability of America, with some
“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.
Christopher Troyer Mrs. Foster ACP US History 19 September 2017 Two Men, One Idea The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense may have more in common than you think. Thomas Jefferson was a well educated man with a background in law. He attended the Second Continental Congress where he wrote The Declaration of Independence.
During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”
After the French and Indian War the British were had a gargantuan debt! In order to pay off such a huge debt they imposed new taxes and enforced old ones. Great Britain thought that it was allowed to pass laws like these, because Britain had protected the colonists therefore the colonists have to give obedience. Laws like the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Tea Act, and along with the British being oblivious to colonists’ pleas to change the harsh laws (Document 2) allowed
Before this many Colonists did not know of the harsh injustices done by the British. They also did not believe that the cause for revolution was urgent. Thomas Paine showed them that the cause was urgent by explaining the wrongs the British had committed and why King George was a tyrant. He also showed them that America did not need the British Empire 's protection. This quote shows his reasoning “Small islands, not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”
The French and Indian War was important to the American Revolution because the debt from the war was the reason that Parliament started taxing the colonists. Also, the French and Indian War made Britain very weak, making the colonists’ actions work a whole lot better. Since France was not happy with the outcome of their war with Britain this was a main reasons for France’s interest in helping the now Americans throughout the Revolutionary War, which was very important to the colonies’ victory. The reason why Britain started to tax the colonists was because of the debt resulting from the French and Indian War. The first tax was the the tax on sugar, which was put on the colonists to help pay off the war debt.
Since trade was boosted, Americans came to accumulate a large amount of debt to the British creditors. (Henretta & Brody, 2010) In order to extract money from the colonist to repay their debt, the British then began to place tariffs on many common items that had no reason to be taxed. The colonies felt the same way and even though they had an underlying debt, they felt that this was the improper way to go about
Thomas Paine had successfully contributed to the declaration of independence and his 47-page pamphlet, “Common Sense”, impacted numerous Americans. “Common Sense” allowed citizens of the colony to