Thomas Paine Essay, Research Paper

Author

During the 1770s Thomas Paine was a political philosopher and writer. He encouraged people to fight for American independence from Britain. He is one of the more creative figures of his period. Paine talked about American revolutionary ideas with his 1776 writing, Common Sense. In the writing, Paine made a point that Great Britain was trying to corrupt the American colonies and that they contributed nothing to America?s well being.

Summary

Paine published this 50-page story, Common Sense, on January 10, 1776. In this essay, it said that the American colonies had received no advantage from Great Britain, which was trying to corrupt them, and that every thought of "common sense" called for the colonies to become independent and to establish a republican government of their own. The story criticized Great Britain for its corruption toward the colonies as a whole.

Argument

Thomas Paine?s "Common Sense" played a large part in the separation from England. Paine thought the colonies had the right to revolt against a government that imposed taxes on them but didn?t give them the right to represent them in the current government. Thomas believed there was no reason for the Colonies to stay dependent on England. He had an awesome way of persuading people to take action through his writing. Paine says that sooner or later independence from England must come, because America had lost touch with the mother country. All the arguments for separation of England are based on nothing more than the facts and arguments. Paine saw the government as a possessed demon that could only become good when it was represented truthfully and changed by elections. He uses argumentation, in that the writer presents and logically supports a particular view or opinion. Paine uses motivation by which people?s values, desires, wishes, and needs are mentioned. His writing?s brought courage in a time of need to people who wanted to become independent. At the time that Paine wrote "Common Sense" the colonies were still thinking about declaring their independence from Great Britain. Some people told their leaders in the Continental Congress to act against separation from the mother country, which made thousands of colonists undecided about what to do. Today?s Government of the United States is similar to that of England in the 1770?s. They are similar in ways such as taxes and basic ways of living. Both control our rate of taxes without our say in the matter. Like Paine?s idea of government, many people think government should be regulated and as simple as possible.

Criticism

I think the point that Paine was trying to get across in "Common Sense" was the fact that a country is suppose to be more for the people and the government should not be as powerful as it was or is now. The government should not be able to hold such a high ground over the people who live under it. I believe that when Paine wrote this "pamphlet" he intended it to be more of a morale booster and at the same time an eyes wide-open view to the government around them. It clearly stated that England was losing power and it was for the good. I think that Paine got his message across because he was such an inspirational writer. I feel that he was a major force behind the colonization of America. I think that Paine was an inspirational leader and at the same time he had the presence of a mentor within his writings. Most of the time I almost think that Paine was trying to become a diversified type of pioneer in the field of liberalization. He points to many times where he was pushing for the colonies to break away from England and become a different type of government. I believe that he wanted us to think or know that everyone has the right to even the smallest amount of power in a government society. I feel he wanted us to believe that "Old England" wasn?t the way to go and that it had too much power. I think that Paine was an inspiring writer and that his works may even be looked upon today as an inspiration to many people who want to express themselves through writings. I feel, after reading this pamphlet, that many people can make of it what they want to but the real point was clearly stated throughout the writing; to understand that not one, not two, but many people make up a government and its power to control society.