GARRET BISHOP

Thomas Paine

Common Sense

British born radical Thomas Paine went to the new world in late 1774. Upon arrival he immediately noticed the American people’s urgency in detaching themselves from the control of Great Britain.

Paine then produced what is considered the most widely read pro-revolution literature in the American colonies. Calling it Common Sense, he created a series of pamphlets designed to reach the American common people who normally were uninvolved in politics.

The pamphlets were the revolutions propaganda. Often read aloud in taverns and public areas, the book urged formation of the continental army and helped spread the ideas of Republicanism.

Revolution

Said to be a propagandist by inclination, Paine went on to write many more books on the necessity of reformation and revolution.

With the book Rights of Man(1791), Paine wrote he felt revolution was permissible if the government does not move to help guard its citizens natural rights and national interests.

Paine’s writings served as a tool to connect the political elite’s ideal’s with the common public’s. He was able to bring people together, helping to engage necessary revolutions.