“Common Sense” was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776, encouraging American citizens to rebel against Great Britain and declare independence. It was written in simple language and structured like a sermon, making it accessible to all. The pamphlet was a bestseller and donated profits to the Continental Army. It is credited with being one of the deciding factors in the American Revolution.
“Common Sense” was a 48-page pamphlet published anonymously in early 1776 encouraging American citizens to rebel against Great Britain and declare independence. The pamphlet’s author was later revealed to be Thomas Paine, a revolutionary writer and thinker who went on to write “The Crisis,” a series of pamphlets published in 1776-1777, and “The Age of Reason,” another notable work published in the late 1700s that had a profound influence on the French Revolution. This document is often credited with being one of the deciding factors in the American Revolution, and is commonly taught and discussed in American history classes.
Paine began work on the pamphlet in 1775, originally calling it “Plain Truth.” On the recommendation of a colleague, the name was changed to “Common Sense” and on January 10, 1776, the paper was published by R. Bell of Philadelphia. At a time when Americans were uncertain about revolution, “Common Sense” provided a series of clear-cut appeals to logic that were designed to persuade readers to conclude that independence was America’s only viable option.
In the first year alone, 25 editions were printed, and the booklet was a bestseller in the United States and abroad. Paine donated the profits to the Continental Army, led by General George Washington. Curiously enough, although modern historians regard “common sense” as an extremely influential document, contemporaries actually rarely discussed it, at least publicly. This may have been because the contents were treasonous and people feared retribution.
Thomas Paine is one of many contenders for the title of “Father of the American Revolution” thanks to this pamphlet. What made “Common Sense” unique was not simply that it was published at a time when such documents were very dangerous to print, but that the booklet was written in simple, clear language designed to be accessible to all. “Common Sense” was structured much like a sermon, a format that would have been familiar to Americans, and presented a clear, logical progression of topics, rather than meandering or entangled in verbose tangents.
The pamphlet comprised four sections: “Of the Origin and Design of Government in General”, “Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession”, “Reflections on the Present State of American Affairs”, and “Of the Present Capacities of America”. As well as providing some sound reasons for separating from Britain, the pamphlet also made some suggestions for the future governance of the new country.
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