How Did Thomas Paine Influence The American Government

Thomas Paine had been a highly acclaimed English- American writer, Politician, and civil advocate during the 1770’s, otherwise known as the revolutionary war period. He is in large part the spark that ignited the fire in the colonial people’s hearts that led the beginning of the revolutionary war. Although Thomas Paine had left England for the United States in 1770, he instantly fell in love with the colonies and what they stood for. Main reasons for Paine’s willingness to travel had been due to the convincing done by Ben Franklin, who at the time may have been the most important person to the colonies and British relations. Ben Franklin told Paine there would be many opportunities for him to become a successful journalist if he came over to the colonies, and that indeed had been the case for Paine. Paine’s most effective persuasive techniques was probably his use in logos, by showing the colonists what harm would be done by the British if they continued to lay back and let them run their land. Doing so greatly feared the colonists which in turn left to the revolutionary war.

On the eve of a modern era, July 4, 1776, a select committee of five representatives sat down to document the separation of the American colonies from the despotic reign of the English Monarch, King George. It was on this day that Thomas Jefferson put pen to paper to write “The Declaration of Independence” and courageously declared autonomy from Great Britain and their harsh and unlawful actions which, the colonists, can no longer be content with. Jefferson proclaims the separation of what will later become the United States of America from Imperialistic Britain. Jefferson addresses King George directly to state his intentions as well as the Patriotic Colonists in order to persuade them in favor of the liberation of colonial America and obtaining

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. On January 10, 1776, the piece was anonymously published and it was an instant sensation. Many colonists were wondering what they should do regarding Great Britain, and Common Sense encouraged many to think deeper into the idea of America’s independence. Today, Common Sense remains

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. “Common Sense” also played a major role in shaping a colonial squabble into the American Revolution. When Paine wrote “Common Sense” many colonist considered themselves to be “aggrieved Britons”. Paine wanted the whole world to be free, his

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. Thomas Paine had successfully contributed to the declaration of independence and his 47-page pamphlet, “Common Sense”, impacted numerous Americans.

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 On the Social Contract. Each of the philosophies discussed the purpose of government as well as which government was the most ideal. For Paine, government, is “a punisher,” in which society is ruled by in order to protect the properties of one’s natural rights (Paine 3). However, he defends a representative democracy as being the ideal. Likewise, John Locke also argues that governments protect the rights of man. Similarly, to

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. It also included a passage critical of King George III and the slave trade, but were omitted from the final draft, for being too controversial. The Declaration of Independence was a Declaration for international recognition of America’s struggle for freedom and served as an inspiration for colonial peoples around the world seeking

Thomas Paine, a man who is responsible for some of the most influential writing during the colonial period of the seventeen-hundreds. Thomas Paine was born in Britain, in January 1737 and moved to America in the year 1774 shortly before the start of the Revolutionary war on April 19th 1775. Soon after the first major battle in the war Thomas wrote his most famous work, a pamphlet titled “Common Sense”. The purpose of this pamphlet was to persuade anyone who might be undecided on whether or not they wanted to break free from the oppression of the British government. Thomas wanted the American people to fight for more than just freedom from British taxation, he believed that they could gain or independence. Common Sense made an unquestionable argument for independence from England and called the revolution not only achievable, but inevitable.

“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. But Paine would not accept this attitude.

Thesis: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense articulated the anti-British sentiments of the Colonies in a way so unprecedented that it permanently changed the face of political thought in America.

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. The thirteen colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Caroline, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

Thomas Paine, a British-American political writer, intellectual, and strong advocate of the American Revolution, published several compelling pamphlets in the mid-late 18th century inspiring colonists to rebel against the British government. One of his most influential works, Common Sense (1776), would eventually become the most widely-read political non-fiction of its time. Samuel Adams would later declare that “without the pen of [Thomas Paine], the sword of Washington would be raised in vain.” In Common Sense, Paine powerfully argues that colonists must declare independence from Britain in order to establish a representative democracy founded upon their religious and political beliefs.

Thomas Paine had many reasons for America 's need to separate from the British Empire, beginning with the fact that Great Britain was taking advantage of America by using America only as a source of new commerce or a new investment, instead of truly caring for the colonies. In addition to taking advantage of America, another reason Paine said to fight Great Britain was because, although they protected America, Great Britain was only fighting for their own investment in the colonies, instead of for the people within the colonies. The colonies were also persuaded by Thomas Paine in "Common Sense" to separate themselves from Great Britain because the only reason the colonies were connected was through the mother country (England), and the colonies

Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense in 1776, the year in which the American revolution took place. Paine wrote this as a call to the American people, to get them to join in the movement to separate from Great Britain. In 1776, the American colonies were ruled by English monarch King George III, who many viewed as an unfair tyrant who completely disregarded the needs of the colonists, and whose reign was a “...long and violent abuse of power…” Paine agreed, as he believed that the colonists were “...grievously oppressed…” and were not granted adequate representation, nor seen as the British citizens which the colonists believed that they were.Motivated by distaste for the English monarchy, over the treatment of the American colonies,

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense written in 1776 compelled the American colonists to separate from their mother county, England. Paine asserted at the time that England only cared about its own economic status and cared little for the colonies (84). With this, Paine addressed that in the event of revolution, the colonies would prosper due to home field advantage and the heart and passion the militiamen have (123-124). Most importantly, after having dealt with England’s superiority, independence and a representative government would arise in the minds of the colonists (66). According to Paine, independence would not lead to inevitable war; independence would lead to a more unified America with a stronger economy and a centralized government that