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Thomas Paine's Rhetorical Strategies

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Thomas Paine's most effective rhetorical strategy has to be his incessant allusions to different Biblical elements in order to arouse the idea of independence. One of the best examples of this comes as early as the first paragraph, where he discusses the absurdity of Britain's claim that they have the right to bind all of their citizens in every matter or case. However, Paine retorts with a response of his own, saying, "for so unlimited a power can belong only to God. . . ." (1). Here Paine, knowing that most of his readers are devout, Protestant churchgoers, briefly introduces the notion that Britain is overstepping its authority in such a way that it's almost as if they are trying to play God. He cleverly demarcates a boundary between the
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