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.
After the colonist declared they were going to try to obtain freedom from British rule, they faced several problems such as accepting the decision they have made. In The American Crisis, Number 1 by Thomas Paine, Paine tries to inspire and encourage the colonist to join the fight and not lose faith and their will power. Paine uses several writing strategies, such as aphorism and anecdote, in order to give the colonists reasons why they deserve to live free from tyranny.
The time for American revolution is now and Paine says that this revolution would be a just one, due to having exhausted all other peaceful means of trying to resolve the issues at hand. Paine states that it lies within this revolution that America has a chance at breaking free from the tyrannical grip of Britain. To give examples of the exhausted means already used, Paine calls to mind the Olive Branch petition, and a few other key documents, that try desperately to receive the...
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’s Common Sense was a powerful and successful propaganda weapon used to promote his idea of independence from Britain. In order to prove that seeking independence was necessary at this time in history, Paine wrote about the relationship between society and government, his opinions about the British monarchy and the King, and the freedoms he believed had been stolen from the colonists. Common Sense was written in terms that were easily relatable to the colonist of this time period. After they finished reading his work, many colonists’ opinions about the British were swayed by his strong words. Even though Paine arrived in America quite late, he was able to make a significant difference by changing the colonists’ views, which ultimately
Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his pen and paper to urge the public to break free from Great Brittan. He wrote anonymously, yet addressed the public as he spoke out about his beliefs. The first pamphlet he published, influencing independence from Brittan, was called Common Sense
His exceptional writing and simple style reached many receptive ears across the Colonies. He also spoke plainly as was with de Crevecoeur yet tended away in his writing from the rural and the pleasant and more towards politics and the ugly truths that were part of colonial life. Consider his most famous work “Common Sense” it is an agitation against the crown of England, this would become a pattern with the man. In its most basic form “Common Sense” is a call to arms and revolution. It is also a great if very lengthy argument for what should happen after the war is won establishing a republic. “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. ’Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom; but of a continent—of at least one-eighth part of the habitable globe. ’Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected even to the end of time by the proceedings now” (Paine 136). This is Paine’s original thoughts on the matter and his beginning argument. He continues with “We have boasted the protection of Great Britain without considering that her motive was interest, not attachment; and that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account, from those who had no quarrel with us on any other account, and who will always be our enemies on the same account.” (Paine 137). It seems a pretty simple argument to the author that Americans are only entangled in foreign wars because of the association with Great Britain. He makes another assertion that “America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power taken any notice of her. The commerce by which she hath enriched herself are the necessaries of life, and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe.” (Paine 137). Paine’s call to a republic
“Thomas Paine Makes the Case for Independence”, Reading the American Past. Ed. Michael Johnson. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012.
Few writers were as influential and widely read as Thomas Paine during his lifetime, and yet only six people were reported to attend his funeral.1 He provoked strong opinions, whether involving love, hate, or more likely both, throughout his lifetime. Paine wrote Common Sense, American Crisis, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason, all with a specific purpose depending on the political atmosphere at the given time. He has affected the life of every human being since the publishing of his works.
Six months before the Declaration of Independence is written in 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is published, causing a substantial amount of colonists to rebel against the British once and for all. This radical document doesn’t just sell 120,000 in a few months, it changes colonists’ thoughts and outlook regarding the British monarchy, and ultimately pushes the colonies towards independence from Great Britain. His pamphlet starts with a more hypothetical approach about government and religion, then transforms into the detailed problems between Britain and its colonies.