How Did Pain Use Concepts Of Equality And British Control Of The Colonies?

Paine and Chalmers differed on their views of American independence as well. Chalmers believed that American independence would only result in another form of tyranny under Cromwell’s rule. On the other hand, Paine believed that America would benefit from independence because they would be at peace with other nations such as France and Spain that could eventually enter into war with Britain. Paine based his argument largely on the idea that it was European tyranny that drove Europeans to find America appealing.

1. The problems that Thomas Paine sees with the British monarchy involve its straying from ideal government, the unjust placement of one individual above all others, and its hereditary aspect. The problems that Thomas Paine sees with King George III in particular are his personal transgressions against liberty. Thomas Paine, firstly views government as “but a necessary evil” (15), and therefore it should be both as limited as possible and also tied to the more positive society. The ideal form of government, thus according to Paine, is a simple republic where the elected are forced to be accountable to their electors (16). The British monarchy fails in all accounts; not only does the prescence of a monarchy at all eliminate the accountability of a republic, but the complicatedness of the British monarchy system makes it worse in this aspect than even other monarchies. Although absolute monarchies are horrid in that they give no power to the people, they are still simpler than the British monarchy; this makes issues much more difficult to handle in the British monarchy (17). The other problems that Paine has with the British monarchy apply to monarchies at large. Paine argues that the placement of one person above all others is an unnatural divide; there is no explanation for the division of people into “KINGS and SUBJECTS” (22) such as there are in other forms of division that humans live with. If it does not make sense to place one individual above all others, then such should most certainly not be law; therefore, from this logic, monarchy, which is entirely based on the principle of placing one person (and their relatives) above all others, is an invalid and unnatural form of government. Of course, some people could, arguably, have earned the admiration and respect of their peers through important action, and thus be deserving of a leadership position. In a republic, by listening to their electors, the elected earn their right to lead. However, the hereditary monarchy removes this earning of the right to lead, and Paine takes issue with that. There is no guarantee that the descendants of a good leader will also be good leaders, and therefore the government of a country should never be left to heredity (29).

It claims all monarchs are despots, cut off from their people and craving for absolute power.  “Male and female are the distinctions of nature,” Paine wrote, “good and bad the distinctions of heaven; but how a race of men came into the world so exalted above the rest . . . is worth enquiring into” (Paine 9).  Government is a necessary evil, a “badge of lost innocence,” that tends to get in the way of civilized society.  Modern civilizations should organize themselves into local, self-governing societies with only representational government, suggested Paine, not an all-powerful monarch. “Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived” (Paine 17).

Thomas Paine expresses his feelings toward the English constitution and its flaws specifically the crown. According to Paine, "because the

Thomas Paine claims in Common Sense that the people living in America do not need to tolerate the oppression from their British overlords. His main purpose for writing this pamphlet was to expose the injustice of the British towards the Americans and to persuade those who still believed that the British were either needed or were beneficial for the Americans in 1776. Paine values the idea that the Americans need to revolt against their evil ,oppressive, monarchical rulers in Britain and to establish pure democracy in the Thirteen Colonies. Paine writes from the perspective of an equal to his fellow American man, thus making him relatable from common folk to the wealthy merchants and upper classes. Paine shows the British tyranny over America as horrific and he wishes to expose British faults and impurities to inspire the colonists

Political writer, Thomas Paine, in his persuasive writing, The Crisis No. 1, expresses feelings towards Britain's control over the colonies. Paine's purpose is to unite the colonists in an effort to retaliate against Great Britain. He uses an objective tone in order to unite and rally the common person in his nation.

The colonists began considering independence when Britain tried to assert an unjust amount of control over them. Paine’s work makes it clear that he believed once the first colonists ventured to North America, the spilt should have been instantaneous. The colonists had endured unjust behavior from Britain for thirteen

Some people thought that the dispute between America and Britain should be resolved, Paine wanted to show the people that even if the two came to a satisfactory agreement, that it would not last. The history

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.

Thomas Paine believed that the US needed independence mainly for three reasons. First of all, the US had larger land than Britain. Britain wanted the resources from the US to build the mainland of Britain. Also the Britain government was fighting with the colony people. Thomas Paine thought that it was unfair if the British fight with them and take resources from them at the same time. If they got chance to be fully independent, they can trade their resources with other countries in the world and became powerful. Secondly, he thought if they did not break with Britain, they would not able to get help from other countries in Europe because other countries did not want Britain to be the most powerful country in Europe. If they broke with Britain, other country will help them to fight against Britain. Third reason was they just want to be an independent country. They did not want to be ruled by other people anymore.

Next, Paine contended against the idea of monarchy and hereditary succession. He utilized the Book of scriptures to outline God's judgment of monarchies. At that point he contended that America never again required Britain's assistance, and that

This can be evidenced by document three, which shows Thomas Paine’s pamphlet called “Common Sense”, and through document six, which shows the Declaration of Independence. In “Common Sense”, Paine states that if the powers of governing remains in the hands of the king, he will have a negative effect over the whole legislation of the continent. He later states that the King has imposed laws on the colonies that have benefitted no one but himself and has caused the bloodshed and slaughter of the colonists, despite having a pretended title of “Father of his People”. The Declaration of Independence displays all the grievances of the colonists toward the King; in other words, all the negative impacts the King has imposed on the colonists. Some of these grievances include: “forbidding his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance”, “dissolving Representative Houses”, and “quartering large bodies of armed troops”. King George III having little consideration for the colonies is a strong argument for a revolution and independence because the applied to almost everyone in the British colonies, whether it be the colonists, the Africans, or the Native Americans- therefore they could all empathize with the cause. The strongest argument made by those who were against the American Revolution was that the American colonies would be weak without Britain. This can be seen in document nine, which shows the loyalists plead their cause to the King, in which they state that Great Britain will prevent the ruin of “her American friends” because it is in their best common interest since they are also British subjects. They also state that the British have provided them with the aid of powerful and good allies and relief which has helped them in the past.This is a strong argument

Thomas Paine had many arguments for American independence but there are a few of them that are really the main focus of his thoughts for independence. The first argument that he made that was focused on independence was the relationship between the colonist and Britain. The fact that that Britain had laws to govern a colony on the other side of the world was implausible. That the island of Britain was going to give laws that the colonist of the Americas had to abided by even though the one who made the law was 3000 miles away. Another argument that he had was that George III was a tyrannical leader. There was no way that he was going to keep peace, and to rule over a colony, and expect the colony to follow all the

Scott Liell’s book 46 pages: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Point to Independence ultimately describes Thomas Paine’s life and showcases the struggles he went through and the outside forces that influenced him to write Common Sense. Liell’s book also expresses the importance of Common Sense, stating that it is the “single most influential political work in American history” (16). Paine was born and raised in England, in which the King and his monarchial rule would have evident influence in his later

The second way Paine structures his argument for independence from Britain is through an extended metaphor, comparing England and America to a mother and child. Through this metaphor, Paine illustrates the toxicity of the relationship to the reader in “plain” language. Abandoning technical terms and the phrases often used by higher class, educated individuals Paine keeps the metaphor plain and simple so that everyone can comprehend the message. Paine begins the metaphor by highlighting the destructive “maternal” relationship shared by the countries. “But Britain is the parent country, say some. The the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make