Difference Between Thomas Paine's Common Sense And The Declaration Of Independence

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The Revolution was preceded by three essential documents. These documents are the Olive Branch Petition, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, and the Declaration of Independence. These documents laid the foundation for the terms of which the Americans were going to fight for their independence. The Olive Branch Petition was written in 1774, and Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence were written in 1776. The Olive Branch Petition was written by John Dickinson. This document was written in a different tone than the other documents because the men were trying to write in a way that would please the king. They wanted the king to feel as though these men respected him when he read it. One example of this is “Your majesty, we are confident, …show more content…

He states that this is like saying a baby cannot ever have meat because it has thrived on milk for so long, and this is an absurd statement in his opinion. They have felt that the protection of Great Britain has been so good without deliberating that the protection was only for the good of Great Britain, that Great Britain only did so for “interest and protection from her own enemies and on her own account.” He goes on to write that “France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be, our enemies as Americans, but as out being the subjects of Great Britain.” He challenges the reader to think of one advantage of being connected with Great Britain because he cannot think of any. Paine wonders of how we can reconcile or love and honor and faithfully serve, with people who have brought war into their land. Many of the British soldiers had taken over the property of many people in the colonies. This goes back to the responsibility of the government of protecting property. Being tied to Great Britain will do many things to the colonies. First, they will not be able to make any laws but what Great Britain sees fit for their laws to be. Laws are better followed; however, when you are the one who has created the laws you must follow. Second, people are afraid to have independence because they don’t know how to go about gaining their …show more content…

All men were created by God with certain God-given rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the right of the people to eradicate this form of government when it becomes destructive to these rights. The Declaration then goes on to state many things that the king of England has done wrong or against America. He has not allowed Governors to pass laws that are of great importance. He has made judges dependent upon him for their salaries; they must do what he says is right in order to get paid. He has cut off their trade from other parts of the world. He has waged war against them. He has done numerous things that have not been taken care of after multiple petitions have been set out to be received by the king. They want to be enemies in times of war and friends in times of peace. It is the right of these colonies to be free and independent states, and they have freedom to do that of which all independent states have to do. They end with the statement that they have a firm belief that this is the Providence of God to be

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