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Zachary Wagner
Mrs. Dziadek
1301 Engl
15 November 2015
Thomas Paine and Common Sense
Thomas Paine, an editor of the Pennsylvania magazine wrote Common Sense.
Published in the 1770s, Common Sense sold over thousands of copies in America.
Many Americans were confused on whether or not they should fight for independence
against England. Thomas Paine is pivotal in American history due to his pamphlet,
Common Sense, which had convinced Americans to break apart from England as being
with them was deemed as toxic.
Paine grew up in Thetford England. After obtaining a basic education he had
gone straight to work. Unfortunately he was not very good at his first job and was fired.
He then became a tax collector but sadly got fried from that as well. “At the age of 13,
he began working with his father as stay maker (the thick rope stays used on sailing
ships) and he later worked as an officer of the excise, hunting smugglers, and collecting
liquor and tobacco taxes” (Harwood). He then had met Benjamin Franklin who had told
him he should move to America. Franklin also had written him a letter of
recommendation for any of his jobs within America. Shortly after his arrival he had
become the co-editor for the Pennsylvania magazine. During his time as the co-editor
he had written a pamphlet about the cruelties of slavery and how unjust and inhumane it
was.
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In Paine’s time in America he could feel the growing tension of the people who
were unsure if they wanted revolution. “Paine had sensed the rise of tension, and the
spirit of rebellion, that had steadily mounted in the Colonies after the Boston Tea party
and when the fighting had started, in April 1775” (Hoffman). Some people believed that
the Americans should still be a part of England mostly due to the fact that England was
the mother country. A lot of people were still loyal to England at the time and were part
of the large group of people who were unsure if they had wanted revolution. After
Common Sense was published it showed Americans how unfair and not right the
English government was. Common Sense had slandered the way monarchy was being
run and how there is no such thing as hereditary succession.
In the time between the revolution many colonists were unsure of who they
should be following. Many still saw England as its mother country and others wanted to
break away because they viewed the English as an evil. Unfortunately in Common
Sense Paine had deemed government as a necessary evil. This meaning that no matter
what any type of civilization does there will always be a type of governing system.
Common Sense brought an understanding of government for all of the colonists.
“MANKIND being originally equals in the order of creation, the equality could only be
destroyed by some subsequent circumstance: the distinctions of rich and poor may in a
great measure be accounted for, and that without having recourse to the harsh illsounding names of oppression and avarice” (Paine 5) It also showed the unfairness of
the Monarchy and how there really is no such thing as hereditary succession.
At the time Common Sense was a very influential piece of writing. Due to the
attitude of all of the Americans, Common Sense had shined a light on how monarchy
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had too much power and how England’s government was much disorganized. Common
Sense was also published in 1776, at the time it was published it was a very crucial time
because there already had been a few battles between America and England. Common
Sense showed away any doubts that the common people might have to revolt against
England. Common Sense had been written for the common man. Paine wrote it so
everybody could learn about the government and also gave birth to political debate at
the time. Common Sense taught people about the English government and it also
taught Americans what type of government we should run ourselves.
Since Thomas Paine was an editor for a magazine he would be able to show
people across America certain things within society. For example one of his other major
pieces of writing was a pamphlet on Slavery and how cruel and unjust it was. When
Thomas Paine published Common Sense he published it so the public and the common
people could see his public opinion on the rule of England. He slandered the English
government, said we would gain nothing from being with them, and laid the groundwork
for today’s current government.
The way Common Sense had gotten things done was the way it exposed the
way the government of England was run. Common Sense shed light on the unjustness
of the Monarchy and the hereditary succession. It showed that in all honesty there is no
such thing as hereditary succession and becoming a king through god was false.
Common Sense also brought all of the colonists together up in arms. Common Sense
also gave the ground works for how America should run and operate their own
government.
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Shortly after the release of Common Sense the gears were set in motion. The
revolution had taken off and people had finally decided which side they would take. The
Americans would make an attempt to no longer be owned by England. Due to Common
Sense Paine had convinced many that if we stayed with England it would be much more
toxic for America and we would have nothing to gain by staying with them. America also
began to change in the way we would run our government.
Common Sense impacted society during its time by bringing the people together
in arms. Common Sense was able to show the people of America exactly how unjust
they were being treated. The fact that they were thousands of miles away was another
major reason why we should not be run by England. Common Sense also showed the
common man just how unfair a monarchy was. It shows that the king had too much
power and even with a parliament he was still too powerful. “That the King it not to be
trusted without being looked after; or in other words, that a thirst for absolute power is
the natural disease of monarchy” (Paine 2).
The lasting effect of Common Sense that still lingers onto today is how our
government is run. Common Sense not only brought the people up in arms but also
helped lay the ground work for our current government. Not only did Common Sense
help shape our government it also taught the common man of political debate. Common
Sense also laid the ground work for the Bill of rights. In Common Sense he talks about
England’s legal documents and how some of them are not the best but can be improved
upon.
In conclusion, Common Sense was able to influence hundreds and thousands of
people. Paine was able to show the people how the monarchy was run, and showed
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them how poorly the Americans were being treated. Common Sense was also able to
show the people why they should break away and revolt against a toxic country.
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Works Cited
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London: Continuum, 2004.Credo Reference. Web. 12 Oct 2015.
"Paine, Thomas." A Glossary of Political Theory. John Hoffman. Edinburg: Edinburgh
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Ford, Karen M. "Paine, Thomas." Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical
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David Welch. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 12 Oct 2015.
"Paine, Thomas (1737 - 1809)." The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Ed. Ian Ousby.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 17 Oct 2015.
"Paine, Thomas." The Reader's Companion to American History. Eds. Eric Foner and John
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"Paine, Thomas." Political Philosophy A-z. Jon Pike. Edinburg: Edinburgh University Press,
2007. Credo Reference. Web. 17 Oct 2015.
Harry, T T. "Paine, Thomas 1737-1809." Reader's Guide to British History. Ed. D. M. Loades.
London: Routledge, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 17 Oct 2015.
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"Paine, Thomas (1737-1809)." Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical
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"Paine, Thomas Otten." Marquis Who Was Who in America 1985-present. Marquis Who's Who.
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