Common Sense Essay

​Thomas Paine's Common Sense is a seminal piece of American literature and American history; arguably it's the most important piece. Paine wrote Common Sense in 1775-1776, and it's theme was to spread his political beliefs. He wanted American independence from the British monarchy. The pamphlet was anonymously released on January 10th, 1776, and it explained to the reader why the colonies needed to rebel against their British oppressors. It was sold far and wide across the colonies, and it was successful; it inspired many of the soldiers during the initial summer of rebellion in 1776. The whole idea of the pamphlet revolves around persuading the reader to side with the rebels in their valiant fight for independence, and he absolutely uses contemporary persuasive techniques in his writing. He uses facts about the present, he looks towards the future, and he uses religion to persuade his readers. In fact, it's a testament to how the act of persuasion has been very similar over the last 238

Thomas Paine, in his renowned work Common Sense, unambiguously uses pathos to call the founding fathers, and the American colonies as a whole, to action against the oppression of the British government. By using explicit figurative language, passionate diction, and the persistent parallel structure used to create correlation between citizen and governing powers, Paine masterfully manipulates the rhetorical appeals and devices in this piece in order to inspire action.

In the year of 1776, emotions intensify in Colonial America creating an atmosphere prime for dissidence and a yearning for independence. The livid Americans, overtaxed and mistreated by the British after the French and Indian War, debate and argue amongst themselves about the fate of their fledgling colony. The American colonies interested in seeking independence from their motherland Britain, look abroad in hopes of finding moral and political reasons to justify revolution. In the pamphlet, Common Sense, Frenchman Thomas Paine conveys such reasons using rhetorical elements such as figurative language, rhetorical questions, and assertions in order to enhance the morale of the colonists and support the Americans in their revolution against Britain.

Today we look back at the American Revolution and picture a united people fighting for inalienable rights, but to grasp the impact that Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” had upon his contemporaries we must understand the situation in the American colonies in 1776. When Paine wrote his pamphlet, the colonist and The Parliament in London, were almost 10 years into a debate over the rights of limited self-government by the colonies. In the months preceding the publication of Paine’s pamphlet the situation had steadily worsened until the April 19th, 1775 armed confrontation between Massachusetts colonists and British Army soldiers. By the end of that day, blood had been shed by both sides, and armed colonists placed the British garrison in Boston under siege. Despite this violence, most colonists viewed the events as a part of a struggle between Englishmen that would be resolved with the continued allegiance of the colonies to the Crown, but with more favorable treatment from London. It was with this popular mindset throughout the colonies, that Paine would deliver his “Common Sense” pamphlet arguing for complete independence from England. Paine understood that to make his argument resonate he needed to appeal to the public in a manner that had yet to be done.

a. What do the authors say at the outset is the “supreme lesson” of the War of 1812? The leading a divided and apathetic people into war is a bad idea

In the 1940’s a series of propaganda films titled Why We Fight were produced for the purpose of defining the enemies of World War 2 to justify the necessity of America’s involvement in war. Hitler needed to be defeated, Nazism had to be destroyed, and tyranny had to be stopped for the sake of the American way of life by any means necessary. How could society argue against America’s role in the world war when freedom was being threatened? As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to everywhere.” No questions asked, Americans mobilized in the name of liberty and freedom. However the 2005 documentary film Why We Fight directed by Eugene Jarecki is not a sequel or war propaganda. The film informs the audience and questions America 's military industrial complex that has since dictated policy since the victory of World War 2. With the help of narration, soundbites, and credible speakers Jarecki shines light on the pernicious impact of the armed industry on our government, army, and citizens.

Introduction Thomas Paine's work, Common Sense, was written in 1776. James Chalmers' Plain Truth, written the same year, was a response to what Paine had written. Each was written during a politically divisive time, and the opposing views reflected in each of these documents clearly reflect the sentiments of that period in our nation's history. The thirteen colonies were not of one mind on the subject of whether or not they wanted independence from England. There were strong opinions to support views on either side. As we can see by looking closely at each of these primary sources, emotions ran high on both sides.

Summary: A month after the battle “at Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.” Among the assembly was John Adams, a delegate of Massachusetts, who was there to help find a way to declare war against Britain and gain independence from them. While working in Philadelphia, John Adams would write to Abagail Adam, his wife, exchanging “news, ideas, and concerns…”, unlike many important men at the time John Adams listened and valued Abagail’s ideas. On February 18, 1776, John wrote to Abagail about new and speculations that are happening in Philadelphia, as well as sending her a pamphlet titled Common Sense, that was published on January 1776, that started to gain a lot of traction among the people who had

In 46 Pages author Scott Liell is able to poignantly illustrate the colonies metamorphosis from a dependent arm of the English Empire to an independent country, the catalyst for which was Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Liell is able to not only articulate the turning point of the American consensus towards independence, but he also very intelligibly depicts the sentiments of all facets of colonial dogma and the torrential effect that Common Sense had in loosening the cement that held those beliefs. Using fantastic examples of the opinions of Tories, Whigs, and those ambivalent towards independence, Liell efficiently and

Thomas Paine once said, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” Thomas Paine, the author of not just “Common Sense” but also “The American Crisis”, was one of the greatest journalists of the Revolutionary times. So to start, Thomas Paine was born January 29th, 1737 in Thetford, England. Even as a little boy his father had high expectations, so when Paine failed out of school at age 12 his father was very disappointed. At age 19, he set out to sea, but eventually failed at that too.

was not the truth. This book showed the harsh reality of war that most people

Most of you have came here for economic opportunities, separating from England would only mean less trade. This will destroy the economy and we will have a low supply of tea. I was angered when I heard about the Boston Tea Party, not only was it a waste of tea, now we have to pay the debt by closing the Boston Harbor. My family’s trading business can’t afford to deal with such unreasonable acts. Our American economy would only cripple without the help of Great

When people think of America, compared to other countries, they think of freedom. From the famous red, white, and blue flag, to the majestic bald eagle. However, America, as everyone knows, has not always been free, but rather apart of Great Britain. As America was gaining more and more settlers and colonists, the British King decided to start imposing heavy taxes and to enforce said taxes, he sent over soldiers and used already stationed troops to enforce these taxes. Of course people were not happy about this, so some Americans started talking of a Revolution, and one of the texts to get people riled up and on the side of the revolution was the pamphlet “Common Sense.” In response to “Common Sense,” the text “The True Interest of America

Here recently I have had the pleasure of listening to your speech at the convention, and I completely agree with you about your decisions, but also disagree. Some reasons why I agree is because fighting to get peace may be the easiest way earn your freedom and show how much you care for your country. Then again it could just cause a bigger conflict between Britain. I agree with your decisions because one way or another you have to show who you’re going to stand up for! Who you’re going to be fighting for and the kind of leader you are. An example of what you said yesterday is “If we wish to be free if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!”

“When the war began, the United States had entered a period of isolationism. Americans viewed the conflict as Europe’s problem and wished to keep it that way. However, as the situation in Europe grew increasingly overwhelming, the United States began to slowly edge towards going to war.” The final point, of course was the surprise