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Common sense influencedAmericas independence 123
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In 1775, the American movement towards freedom was gaining strength. Many authors during this time wrote about how the colonies needed to break away from England and become a free, independent nation. For example, Thomas Paine, John Adams and his wife Abigail are historic figures that played a significant role in the independence movement. They wished for an independent, British-free society where revolution was the means to achieve their common goal. The eventual triumph over Britain fulfilled the promises and aspirations of both Paine and the Adamses.
In January of 1776, Thomas Paine made the case for independence in his pamphlet titled, Common Sense. The conquest of the British must have satisfied the goals of Paine in a plethora of ways. It is made evident that Paine is not fond of a monarchy. He says, " To the evil of monarchy we have added that of hereditary succession...For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever" (94). He later goes on says that a monarchy is nothing better than a restless gang and that hereditary succession is foolish, wicked, and grow to become rude.
In addition to Paine's thoughts on monarchy, he is delighted to see the British leave America for many other reasons. It is clearly evident that Paine believes Americas would have flourished more if the British had not controlled the Americas. Not only does he say, ."..America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had any thing to do with her", but he also states, "whenever a war breaks out between England and any foreign power, the trade of America goes to ruin, because of her[America] connection w...
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...d goal was a government that was elected and not one that had absolute rule. He makes this evident by saying, " An whole Government of our own Choice, managed by Persons whom We love, revere, and can confide in, has charms in it for which Men will fight" (102). Similarly, Thomas Paine also believes in the idea of a lovable government, " Let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal" (96).
Overall, the achievement of independence fulfilled the promises and aspirations of Thomas Paine and the Adamses in a great way. If it was not for Common Sense the revolution might not have gained as much support then if Common Sense was not published. John Adams became a huge historical figure and even became the President. John Adams said it best when he said, " Britain has been fill'd with Folly, and America with Wisdom..." (103).
The language used in Common Sense is that of a leader hoping to inspire his followers to heed his warning and answer his call. Paine's audience was the people of the colonies, he wanted them to realize that the oppression of the crown has not limit and sure there were benefits of belonging to the crown, there were far more oppression beyond measure that comes with such benefits.
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
“Join, or Die.” “Don’t Tread on Me.” These are two mottos often used by Revolutionary supporters and fighters from about 1754 to 1783, and even sometimes today it is still used. These were battle cries that patriotic men would scream with all their might before charging onto the battlefield, where they might take their last breath. Nearly five thousand men gave their lives, for freedom’s sake. Their sacrifices were not done in vain, as the war was ended on September 3rd, 1783. This sense of victory and accomplishment is what lead these new Americans to further establishing their country, making their mark on history, and creating a new identity for themselves, as free men and woman.
Paine dwells on the differences between government and society. He stresses greatly on the fact that a government should be able to protect its society. Giving life and liberty to its people. He also points out that, Britain is the main cause of enemy to the Americas. Expressing disagreement with the British in American, he criticized the British government. He believes that the monarchy has too much power and their system is unreasonable. Paine complicates matters further when he writes, that the Americans are not British anymore. It is not British in a sense that it is so diverse, with different types of Europeans. In Paine’s views Britain is not a mother country, since it imposes harsh treatments and is in a war too often. The idea of best interest was important to Paine. In his views, Britain sees the Americas as profitable institutions to control and gains riches from, as opposed to the development and freedom of the nations. Independence from Britain was one of many ideas of this pamphlet. “Common Sense”, essentially pointed out the reasons why the colonies should leave the British and form a new government. His views on government inspired “Limited government” and “natural laws”, which gives citizens more control on how they shape their local environment and
Have you ever heard of the Enlightenment era in history? It was a significant period in time where people started to have new ideas in technology, science, politics, and philosophy. The Enlightenment also brought about a lot of memorable thinkers who still continue to influence us today. Among those thinkers included the very wise John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. John Locke was an excellent Enlightenment philosopher who actually influenced Thomas Jefferson’s writings for the Declaration of Independence. Their writings helped to create the unity in America, and justify the break from Great Britain. As a result, together these two famous philosophers helped our country become independent with the Declaration
The eighteenth century, a time of turmoil and chaos in the colonies, brought many opinionated writers to the forefront in support or refutation of the coming American Revolution. This highly controversial war that would ultimately separate the future United States of America from Great Britain became the center of debate. Two writers, both of whom supported the Revolution, now stand to fully illuminate one side of the debate. Thomas Paine, a radical propagandist, wrote many pieces during this time including “The Crisis Number 1” (1776). Through writing, he appealed to the “common man” in order to convince them to gather their arms and fight for their freedom. In this document, he utilizes many of the same rhetorical skills and propaganda techniques as Patrick Henry, a convincing orator, did in his famous speech delivered to the state’s delegates in 1775. Among these techniques are transfer, abstract language, and pathos. In both works, these were used to call the audiences to war. These influential pieces both contained a call to action which, through the use of strong and decisive language, aided the beginning of the American Revolution.
The measures made to ensure the king does not have absolute power are not enough to prevent him from ultimately getting his way no matter what that may be. On page 27 Paine tells how the king made the declaration that there will be no law unless put in place by himself. This effort to make the colonists powerless as to how they are governed is tyranny. Paine’s also argues that this event shows how Britain believes America has become too powerful and is trying to slow its growth and development (27). Those who are in parliament so far away from the tragic events that take place in America who live in such a vastly different world are too ignorant to make judgements for America (23). Paine’s statement that in America “law is king,” demonstrates the author’s argument that law developed for the people should be what runs the country not a single man (30). This coincides with the way America was running well before the war ended and Britain decided to exert more power over the colonies. This is made even more evident when Thomas Paine states Britain cannot be relied on to defend them because Britain is the entity that had been trying to take away America’s power and the people rights. Furthermore,
He questioned the reason why the colonialists could not break ties with Britain. He highlighted all the hardships and believe by many that England and its monarch be believed and revered. Thomas Paine also incorporates religion into his style to all people to his viewpoint the king’s rule is unrighteous “ given us up to the devils” (Digital History). He also mentioned fear as a factor that Britain had employed in other parts, but he thanks God he knew the situation well (Digital History). A Thomas Paine argument was that colonialists should continue fighting even in the face of defeat because giving up would be a greater price pay. According to Thomas Paine, America “will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion.” and America will be in a “worse ruin than any we have yet thought of,” if the colonies don’t unite and continue fighting Britain. This point of view is helpful in understanding how his ideas worked to give an extra push for independence and foresee the crises that would come during the war.
With America being as diverse as it is, people would think everyone is united, but is that completely true? Thomas Paine shows his view of America as being a harmonious country with no problems. Even though over the years America has become a lot more diverse, that does not signify, all of the sudden, we have become a problem-free nation, comparable to what Thomas Paine thinks. Every nation has difficulties, and that includes America. America is nowhere close to being a perfect nation, but some nations have a lot more conflicts than America; and we have been trying, over the years, to become closer as a stronger country. Even with diversity growing in America, supporting Paine's argument, the United States is not a complete, harmonious nation,
Paine had not entertained the idea of independence from Britain when he arrived in America. He thought it was “a kind of treason” to break away from Britain. It was not until the Battle of Lexington in 1775 that he considered “the compact between Britain and America to be broken” (Claeys). This idea of a broken compact allowed Thomas Paine to write a political pamphlet.
Thomas Paine had a powerful impact on colonist minds by creating “Common Sense”. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet that helped cause the Continental Army to form, and to make colonist turn against the British. He influenced the Americans to fight for their rights that the king had taken away from them; their natural born rights. Paine said “If Britain is our motherland, then why would she treat her kids badly?” Thomas Paine also said that we are under the British rule. Thomas Paine stated that the British model gave too much power to the king, so that is why colonist should reject the British model. That is just one of the great impacts Thomas Paine had on the colonist.
“A constitution is a thing antecedent to a government, and a government is only the creature of a constitution. The constitution of a country is not the act of its government, but of the people constituting its government” (Paine, Rights of Man). These words, spoken by Thomas Paine in his famous speech from 1791, highlight a fundamental issue with our government, and the Constitution under which it operates. Paine, as well as the Anti-Federalists argues that legitimate government subsists only at the approval of the citizens. Alexander Hamilton requested that the Constitution, “affords a genuine specimen of representative and republican government” and “that it will answer all the beneficial purposes of society” (Hamilton, The Debates). But
In 1776 Thomas Paine published his most popular and influential pamphlet known as “Common Sense”. Its extreme popularity was due to the fact that at the time of publishment the relationship between England and her colonies were at its lowest point. Paine’s pamphlet was groundbreaking because it was one the first documents that blatantly argued for independence from Great Britain (The Norton Anthology of American Literature 640). Citizens of the colonies wanted rebellion because they saw themselves as, “abused citizens of Britain,” (Common Sense: Critical Reception). Paine centers his arguments for the immediate separation from Great Britain around the relationship between America and England.
Thomas Paine constructs Common Sense as an editorial on the subject of the relationship between the Colonies and Great Britain. Through the paper, he hopes to educate his fellow Americans about this subject. In his introduction, he says he feels that there is 'a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong'; which 'gives it a superficial appearance of being right'; (693). He is alluding to the relationship, also calling it a 'violent abuse of power'; (693). This choice of words is similar to those of Jefferson, who asserts that the king had established an 'absolute tyranny'; over the states. Both men set an immediate understanding about their feelings towards the rule of Great Britain over the States. However, where Common Sense seems to be an opinionated essay, Thomas Jefferson writes somewhat of a call to battle. Paine generally seems to be alerting his readers to the fact that there is more going on than they are aware of. Jefferson, on the other hand, begins his declaration by stating, 'When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another'; (715). Unlike Paine, this seems to presuppose that readers are aware of the plight of the nation, and Jefferson is announcing that the time has come to take a stand.
Thomas Paine wrote the Common Sense and in this pamphlet he wrote about America’s separation and independence from Great Britain. His argument stated that America is a large continent and we are in charge of our own fate and direction (Paine 107). Paine further explained that people migrated to America to escape the control of the King and his laws. Paine introduced a theory when comparing America to a small island, that it is possible if separated we can come together and make our own laws and run the country as we see fit (Paine 109). Paine believes that we are no longer in need of Britain’s help and that we can eventually form alliances with other countries as we stand alone outside of Britain’s control.