Comparing Declaration Of Independence And Thomas Paine's Common Sense

The year is 1776, the Declaration of Independence has been written, signed, and approved. America was now a considered an independent nation. None of this would have happened if it were not for the many thoughts, ideas, and opinions shared in Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”. There are many similarities and very minimal differences between both the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” because Paine had published what most of the American colonists were all wanting, the Declaration of Independence solidified those ideas into a proclamation for Independence. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” expresses his want for America to receive independence from Britain. He mentions when God had gotten angry at the Jews because they had

Most colonists shared these ideas and felt there was a need to separate from the parent country because of how Britain had wronged the colonists. The Declaration of Independence outlines four major themes, equality, consent, duty, and the listing of the 26 charges against the monarchy of England. The theme of equality explains how every American citizen should have the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The British monarchy was not allowing the colonists to have these rights. They had controlled the colonist’s and their property similar to a dictatorship would. The pursuit of happiness meant the rights to property, and religion. For the British government to control them in such a manner would be contradicting what the colonists believed to be a fair and just government. The theme of consent heavily focused on the saying “majority rules”. If the government had unfairly taxed the colonists, they would then have the right to refuse them if the majority had ruled against the act of unfair taxation. Duty is barely mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, but is very important to the well-being of our nation. This theme explains that all citizens have a duty to protect the unalienable rights that

The differences held between these two documents is solely based on who was writing the document and what their personal beliefs were. Both of these extremely influential authors were eventually known all over the world for the two writings that helped work towards the independence of America, but both of these authors had very different beginnings. The main author for the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, was an incredibly intelligent lawyer who excelled in school and had went on to go to William and Mary College. (William and Mary College was, and still is a very high ranked college in the state of Virginia.) Jefferson was actively involved in the government and was considered to be a very important and influential person to not only Americans, but even some European officials (“Thomas Jefferson.”). Thomas Paine was very different from Thomas Jefferson due to the fact that he had failed school and dropped out of it at only 12 years old. He had tried to get jobs, but had also failed at those. He was not nearly as successful as Thomas Jefferson. Later on in his life, he became a poor journalist who was writing for a living. He became an incredibly important person, however, once “Common Sense” was published. Suddenly, people were sharing his views, and the