Thomas Paine's Argument For Independence

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Thomas Paine was born January 29th, 1737 in Thetford,England. Thomas Paine’s official education lasted until he turned thirteen, when he began working for his father. After some time Paine took a low-paying job in tax-collecting, while educating himself when he wasn’t working. Paine was eventually fired though due to an article he published that argued raising tax collector’s salaries would reduce corruption. Paine soon after moved to America, following a recommendation of Benjamin Franklin, and published a pamphlet arguing that american colonists should seek total independence. This pamphlet is titled Common Sense. Common Sense was published in January, 1776, and became very popular and widely read all throughout the Americas. Paine played a major role in gathering public opinion behind the ideas of independence. Paine’s argument for independence starts with a general reflection about current government and religion for that time, then progresses into the specifics of the colonies’ situation. Paine embarks on his “treasonous” path by differentiating between society and government. Government, according to Paine,is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect the people from their own …show more content…

I came across a response to Common Sense titled Plain Truth. Plain Truth is written by Lt. Col. James Chalmers, a devout loyalist. Chalmers wrote his response to Common Sense the same year that Common Sense had been released. Chalmers took every he could think of and used it all to tear down Thomas Paine. Regrettably, Chalmers wrote for the wrong audience. Chalmers decided to write Plain Truth with history and literary references, while Paine wrote in a plain comprehensible tone. The average farmer who would stumble through Common Sense wouldn’t reach Plain Truth’s second sentence, and while scholars were members of the American colonies most scholars were already

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