COMMON SENSE by Thomas Paine

Who was Thomas Paine? Was an immigrant from England and not a life long American. Tried to be a sailor, a house servant, and a corset maker. Was a failure at everything, so he came to America in search of a new life. Embodies the European Enlightenment and brings those ideas to America.

Thomas Paine’s new life Settles in Philadelphia by Paine is ambitious and restless and he sees the same spirit in his new home. Loves that there is no powerful king or church.

What was “Common Sense”  “Common Sense” was a how-to book on revolution, particularly the American revolution.  It was only 46 pages long and written in a language that all colonists could understand. After all, look at its author.  The author was not known at the time because it was printed anonymously.  It sold over 100,000 copies. The entire population of the colonies at the time was 2.4 million. That is 1 copy for every 24 people. In today’s terms, that would be selling over 13 million copies. Only 12 songs ever released digitally have be downloaded more than that.

What does “Common Sense” say?  “The sun never shown on a cause of greater worth. Everything that is right and reasonable pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries ‘Tis time to PART.’”  “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”  “Common Sense” consists of seven major arguments for separation.

1- Island vs. Continent “I challenge the warmest advocate for reconciliation to show a single advantage that this continent can reap by being connected with Great Britain. Should an island rule a continent?” Common Sense  How can an small island nation set meaningful policy for an area that is massively bigger with completely different resources?

2- We’re not British Anymore Colonies had been springing up in America for over 150 years at this point. The country was full of groups, especially from Northern Europe. And not just the French left over from the French and Indian War. The Dutch had mass settlements in New York. Germans made up 33% of the colonists in the Middle Colonies Large numbers of Scots and Irish were in the frontier including the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. There were large Swiss colonies in the wealthy eastern parts of the colonies, including New Bern in NC.

3- Yo Mamma “We may assert that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat.” Common Sense What kind of mother would do these things to a child? She may be our mother, but she’s a bad mother! Besides, we’re grown! “But Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon her.” Common Sense Yes, you honor thy mother if she raises you right and treats you with love and respect. But what kind of mother deprives her children of natural rights, doesn’t give them representation and listen to their side of the story, and taxes them as punishment?

4- Bang Bang (here we go again) You have a war every other week. You hate the Spanish. You hate the French. Because you hate them, you won’t let us do business with them. Don’t get us all caught up in your drama.

5- Distance with communications England is over 3000 miles away from America. Ruling from that distance is not going to be effective. Trans-Atlantic voyages took roughly 4-6 weeks. How can you effectively communicate with that kind of time gap? If we get in trouble, how will you be able to help us? Remember the lost colony?

6- Religious refuge One of the whole reasons people started coming to America was to escape state religion. Here there wasn’t the long arm of the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. Paine turns this argument into the argument that the colonies should be free of ALL sorts of over-reaching institutions.

7- Best interest If it came down to it, who would get the most help, England or the Colonies? London will ALWAYS come before Boston. Britain will ALWAYS come first. If we as people know that, why should we accept it? We ain’t nobody’s punk!

REPRESENT!!! Remember, Thomas Paine is part of the European Enlightenment. He is up there with John Locke. He did not come up with these ideas. He simply put them to paper in a way America had not seen. Calls for a new political society and uses the word “REPUBLIC”. People elect leaders based on the consent of the governed. So power comes from the people. “Power should be derived from popular consent.”

Book of Duh! When everything is laid out in front of them, the scary idea of independence seemed to make more sense. It was COMMON SENSE!!!