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Thomas Paine Influence On Common Sense

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Thomas Paine was born is Britain, but migrated to America in 1774, a few months before the Revolutionary war which started in 1775. During the war, Paine wrote a pamphlet called common sense in January 1776, where he argued that Americans should seek complete Independence from the British. Common sense played a vital role in convincing the American colonists to fight for their Independence.
In 1763, the British wanted America to pay the cost of the French and Indian war, in which they acquired all of French Canada and the east territory of the Mississippi except Louisiana. George Grenville, who became George III’s first minister turned to the colonies for revenue. They thought it was fair since the army was protecting the colonies. The sugar …show more content…

People like John Dickinson of Philadelphia wanted to stay within the British Empire. John Dickinson’s view was popular in beginning of 1776. He convinced the Pennsylvania legislature and four other colonies to follow his lead and opposed any move of independence. No more than a third of the members of the congress assembled at Philadelphia through at the end of 1775 and the beginning of 1776 voted for the independence. In January 1776 Thomas Paine released his pamphlet ‘common sense”. Paine believed that the Americans should seek complete Independence from the British. Common sense played a vital role in convincing the American colonists to fight for their …show more content…

He also mentioned that trade with the rest of Europe would be better after America gained Independence. Paine claimed that it is better to seek independence now, because all the problems the Americans had in the past will reappear in the future. Paine even suggested a form of government for the Americans after they achieve Independence. He suggested a democracy that gives equal responsibility to each colony. Paine explained why he thinks the current time is a good time to seek Independence. He calculated using the size of the colonies and concluded that the Americans could build a navy that is similar in size to that of the British. He also mentioned that it’s better to be united now when the population of America is small, because unity might be impossible when the size of the population increases. Paine explained that Americans are seen as rebels, so they need to gain Independence in order to have an alliance with other countries. Paine stressed the importance of Americans seeking Independence from the

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