Common Sense

What It's About

Published anonymously in January 1776, Common Sense is a political pamphlet that made the case, in plain and forceful language, for the American colonies to declare full independence from Great Britain. At a time when many colonists still hoped for reconciliation with the Crown, Paine argued that continued allegiance to a distant monarchy was both impractical and unjust, and that the colonies had every capacity to govern themselves as an independent republic. The pamphlet sold in the hundreds of thousands within months and is widely credited with shifting public opinion decisively toward independence.

Key Concepts

Paine attacks the very idea of hereditary monarchy, arguing that no family has a natural right to rule over others. He distinguishes between society, which he sees as a positive good arising from human needs, and government, which he views as a necessary evil that should be kept as small and accountable as possible. He also lays out practical arguments for independence, including the economic and diplomatic costs of remaining tied to Britain, and sketches an early vision for a written constitution and representative government for the new nation.

About the Author

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was an English-born writer and political philosopher who emigrated to the American colonies in 1774 with a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Largely self-educated and previously employed as a corset-maker and excise officer, he became one of the most widely read political writers of the revolutionary era, later playing an active role in both the American and French Revolutions.