Common Sense: Give Me Liberty by Patrick Henry

Give Me Liberty

Patrick Henry said give me liberty or give me death. In the book Common Sense that is the feel throughout the book and what I think the majority of the Americans that were fighting wanted along with being their motto. The second book I read called Paul Revere’s Ride by David Fischer had that same common theme weaved thought the book. I think that it is a huge similarity throughout both books. It was a different time back then and people today do not understand what they went through or what kind of sacrifices the people made so that we can have the freedom that we do today as Americans.

Commons Sense opened up with a point about Thomas Paine. It described his parents, his childhood, young adulthood, and then him as an adult. It provided an understanding of him and all the struggles he went through along with the type of person he was. It was obvious that he had a different view of women and he was not afraid to say or do what he felt. He did not care who heard it or what they thought of him. This was both in and out of his favor. This helps us understand his background and how he ended up doing the things he did.

Another point was Thomas the writer. He used a style that had never been used before in other writings. He used italics, bold print, and capitalization a lot to emphasize things and to get his point across. An example of this is “Oppression is often the consequence, but seldom or never the means of riches; and thorough avarice will preserve a man from being necessitous poor, it generally makes him too timorous to be wealthy” (Slaughter, 2001). With simple, bold, and inspiring purpose, Paine launched a furious attack on tyranny. He denounced kings as inevitably corrupted by political power. He showed a...

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...ore to it than to go out and kick some British butt. Paul Revere’s Ride discussed much of the same things.

Another point was Thomas Paine the author. It covers in great detail what kind of person he was and covered information from his parents and his childhood, all the way to his death. I think Slaughter painted that graphic picture of him which allowed us to get to know Thomas Paine. I think that it sheds a whole new light on what he did and just how much we owe him for our freedom. I know the book really helped me see that because prior to this class, I was not aware of the magnitude Common Sense and The American Crisis had on the people of America back then.

Works Cited

Fischer, D. H. (1994). Paul Revere's Ride. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Paine, T., & Slaughter, T. P. (2001). Common sense and related writings. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.