Thomas Paine Common Sense Analysis

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Though small in page number, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense carried a big message to many people in the colonies. Common Sense attacked the British government, and the monarchy that controlled it. It was not only a condemnation of the British Empire though. Paine also wrote about a new type of country that could be formed, implying that the colonies form their own union. His work helped introduce the idea of independence to his readers and the populace of the colonies. Common Sense laid part of the foundation that would be the United States of America. Ultimately, Thomas Paine’s manifesto was geared to those who were indecisive on the subject of independence from the British Empire. It is important to know what the country was going through during …show more content…

His logic that fighting was the only option was persuasive, primarily by using information on the abundance of natural resources that the American colonies possessed. He presents a graph that would show the financial cost to build the ships needed for a strong navy. He then presents a calming logical appeal to the reader. Paine states, “No country on the globe is so happily situated, or so internally capable of raising a fleet as America. Tar, timber, iron, and cordage are her natural produce…A nave when finished is worth more than its cost.”(p.36) By utilizing these well known facts he eases readers minds to the question of, can the United States logistically fight a war against the …show more content…

His emotional arguments might be the most intense part of his manifesto. Seeing how the war for independence is beginning in the colonies, Paine knew everyone living in the colonies would at least be emotionally distressed as to what will happen. His rhetoric involving his concept of freedom from government as a bigger fight for the world’s freedom was quite inspiring. “O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her. –Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive , and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.”(p.33) Paine also makes readers think about the future of their children and asks them if they truly want their kids to deal with unfair British tax laws and military interventions. “As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath to

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