Tension Between Jefferson And Thomas Paine

The first similarity between Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson is that both documents called for the independence of American colonies under the British crown. Thomas Paine explained to the colonist the reasons why they should become free from British rule. One of the topics Paine focused on was how the king of Britain abused the rights of the colonist. Some of the mal-practices the crown imposed on the colonist include, the heavy taxation on the colonist to help Britain recover from its war expenses against the French and to help rebuild the nation and wellbeing of its citizens back

Thomas Jefferson discusses the relationship between England and the United states in the pamphlet “ A summary of View of the Rights of British America”. This pamphlet goes on to discuss various situation between these individual countries .These documents highlight some of the many troubles with the two governments . I would like to discuss 4 different instances that arise and have a huge impact between these two states . Jefferson makes some very strong and valid arguments against the tyrannical king of England King George.

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine had both similarities and differences. They both were advocates of freedom from the Crown, however, they were brought up in different ways. Paine was born to a poor family in Britain and did not receive the education that Jefferson did. Jefferson was born to a wealthy family in the colonies, inheriting land and money from his parents. Paine went on to write Common Sense, while Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Paine believed that the selection of Kings was unnatural because people are born into being Kings and nothing assures that the person will be a good leader. Just because your father was a good leader does not mean that you will be one. Paine states that nature would disapprove it, and that we should not give mankind “an ass for a lion”1. He says that when we were created we were all created equal. The British had so much control no one could do anything about it. They could not overcome the government and it made the colonists feel useless. This is exactly why Paine criticized the monarchial government because they were indeed doing everything unfairly and doing it only to benefit themselves.

- The backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine are very much different. In Paine's case he was born in a low income family and abandoned his pursuit for education at age 13. Now Jefferson was an excellent scholar and was raised in a very wealthy family. Paine did not have the benefits that Jefferson had. Paine had to work low paying jobs which caused him to move a lot.

1B) The Declaration of Independence uses several rhetorical strategies, making the argumentative testament of the wrongdoings of the king an effective in pursuing equality for all men. Jefferson utilizes logos, pathos and ethos to prove his point to the country holding their liberty prisoner. Jefferson’s use of logos begins with stating the obvious reason the king should set the people free: the people have the right to the pursuit of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” (2). The King has not done good to the people, in fact he has refused to pass the laws necessary to create order, dissolved representative houses, cut off trade, and imposed unlawful taxes upon the people. They have the basic human rights given to them by God that should set them free from the tyrannical king. Some of the emotional side of Jefferson’s views slip into this argument, such as "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable" (5). While stating further wrongdoings, Jefferson’s use of pathos increases, raising the rage of the republic at the injustice of the rules they have been subjected to. “He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation” (26). Jefferson calls for a sense of empathy from the crown and establishes a sense of severe discontent

The Declaration of Independence was written justifying the reasons for revolting against the British rule. It served three purposes, outlining its theory of government, listing complaints, and declaring war. The main complaint was the passage of unfavorable laws in England that affected the colonists yet they were not represented within the English Parliament to air the opinions while such laws were being passed. Though appearing like a logical argument, the British might have viewed it as diluting their power within their own parliament. Another complaint was the King’s role in making it difficult for the Colonists to participate in governance; this might also have been seen as undermining the British power in America and then there was forbidding laws that would have established significant judiciary powers. The King being the supreme source of justice might have viewed it as undermining

These two historical documents argue the same things in mostly the same way, with slight differences. These differences arise in the different audience and length of the documents. The declaration is a very short document that serves as a quick reading to inform England that they are no longer under England’s rule, while “Common Sense” serves to unite the people of the colonies and enable them to write the declaration. With the length of Paine’s writing, he is able to touch upon many more topics and go into further detail than the declaration, yet they both serve a similar purpose to break away from the British rule. Paine is able to go into detail about why having a king is wrong and why hereditary ruling does not make for a sensible way of passing on the thrown. He even goes into depth and makes a suggestion as to how they can form a

One reason that The Declaration of Independence was so influential was that Thomas Jefferson’s claims against the King of England were easy to understand and logical. Typical complaints include “For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;” and “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” Jefferson uses plain language that everyone can understand to point out large injustices done by the king. His statements about the King are short and to the point. He does not waste any words or bore the reader with abstract writing or excess words and thoughts. He goes from one point to the next to the next in such a fashion that the reader’s concentration is never broken. His points are logical and everyone living in the colonies at that time and many people around the world probably had some idea of the incidents behind all his grievances against the king. Jefferson raps up the injustices done by the king by declaring the United Colonies to be free and independent states.

One of the differences between the “The Crisis” and the Declaration of Independence was their authors. Based on an article on his life by History.com, Thomas Paine was born a poor British citizen. On the contrary, Thomas Jefferson was born and raised on a very successful plantation. These differences of childhoods contributed to both of the men’s level of education

Common Sense and The Declaration of Independence are similar because they’re both for separation and believed that all men are created equal; they are different because of how and why they were written. Common Sense was the thought process while The Declaration was the actual start. Common Sense was published in January 1776 to motivate the colonists to go into war. The Declaration was published in July 1776 to be sent to England for the King and parliament to read. The whole thing began when the thirteen colonies began to feel more and more hostile towards Britain. Wars had already begun when these were published. When Common Sense came out there

“Common Sense” is a much longer piece and this allows it more time to develop more detailed points and elaborate the feelings of concern. It is written in a simple language so that all the colonists could understand the context. Another difference between these documents is that while “Common Sense” was written to persuade the colonists of the need for Independence from Britain, on the other hand the “Declaration of Independence” is a statement that actually carries out the action. A further difference is that the “Declaration of Independence” was written by several members of the Continental Congress, even though Thomas Jefferson is considered the chief author, but the thoughts and wishes behind the author were those of many, while Thomas Paine is the sole thinker and author of his work.

Jefferson began the document by explaining that the rights of the Americans had been brutally molested by the unjust King of Britain. Following this accusation, he provided evidence of this abuse by listing not just a mere handful, but 27 grievances that the King had inflicted against the colonies. Lastly, the conclusion of this article publishes and declares that the United Colonies have the right to be freed from the British and that they have the right to govern themselves as any free country does. The strategic organization of the Declaration of Independence allowed the colonies to be powerfully represented by such a clear and prudently worded

1. Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.

Before the Declaration of Independence was signed, colonists were treated very unfairly by their mother-countries leader, King George III. King George had not helped the 13 colonies in any way and really only used them to gain wealth for Great Britain and himself. George’s method of gaining wealth from the 13 colonies was that they could only trade to Great Britain, which did not help the 13 colonies expand as a country. Also, he heavily taxed colonists on the western hemisphere because he needed aid to pay off his former war debts. The colonists were not happy about his acts because it gave them little opportunity of expanding their wealth or fortune which, is the main idea of coming to the “New World.” This made colonists very angry now was thickening the hatred for their leader they were now just as motivated as the politicians; resulting in, plenty of change, leading to the American Revolution. Jefferson understood the colonists and he was able to express or summarize their ideas, thoughts, and motivations through the document; “We the People”. Even though the Declaration of Independence was a main contribute to the ending of the American Revolution, the war had lasted an extra five years with Britain. Britain did not want to lose the 13 colonies