Common Sense
Storyboard Text
- Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe.
- His political views led to a stint in prison; after his release, he produced his last great essay, “The Age of Reason,” a controversial critique of institutionalized religion and Christian theology.
- Published in 1776 to international acclaim, “Common Sense” was the first pamphlet to advocate American independence.
- “Common Sense” is credited as playing a crucial role in convincing colonists to take up arms against England. In it, Paine argues that representational government is superior to a monarchy or other forms of government based on aristocracy and heredity.
- Thomas Paine arrived in the American colonies in 1774, as the conflict between aggrieved colonists and Britain was reaching its height. After the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, Paine argued that the colonists’ cause should be not just a revolt against taxation but a demand for independence. He put this idea into Common Sense.
- William Cobbett later exhumed Paine’s bones and took them to England, hoping to give Paine a funeral worthy of his contributions to humanity. But the plan backfired, and the bones were lost.
- Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737, in Thetford, Norfolk, England. and passed away in New York City on June 8, 1809, and was buried in New Rochelle.
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