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How Did Thomas Paine Make Common Sense Effective

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Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is a 48 page pamphlet that was written on January 6th, 1776. The purpose of the pamphlet was to create a compelling argument for the American colonies to break away from British rule. Written prior to the Declaration of Independence, the pamphlet acted as a rallying cry to the colonists. It was written in simple, easy-to-read text and utilized biblical quotes that attracted the interest of many Protestants.
Common Sense was extremely instrumental in the initiation of the American Revolution. It was so effective because appeared in a society that had no mass media, no entertainment-industrial complex -- nothing to compete with the urgency of Paine's message to the people. At the same time, Paine sought to write it …show more content…

Despite all their recent hardships, the majority of colonists since birth were raised to believe that England was to be loved and its monarch revered almost like a god. That unconditional love would have been the downfall of the rebellion if it weren’t for Thomas Paine. Common Sense acted as a vector the colonists to start thinking independently of Britain. As Paine wrote, “Europe, and not England, is the parent country of America. This new world hath been the asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty from every part of Europe. Hither they have fled, not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny which drove the first emigrants from home, pursues their descendants still...”. This huge step eventually led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Both documents have many parallels. Both the Declaration of Independence and "Common Sense" discuss independence from Great Britain. Both enumerate the offenses that Britain had committed against the North American colonies, including over-taxation and suppressing colonial interests in Parliament. Both documents discuss the colonies' self-interest in breaking from Great Britain. Paine stated in "Common Sense" that he knows "not a single advantage this continent can reap" by British rule. Likewise, Thomas Jefferson noted in the Declaration that a new form

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