Cover of Common Sense by Thomas Paine Ebook Common Sense
Ebook · The Big Nest

Common Sense

Author
Thomas Paine
Series
Ideas for Life
Language
English
Length
64 pages
ISBN
9781910660911
Published
15 March 2015
Imprint
The Big Nest
  • Thomas Paine
  • Common Sense
  • independence
  • American revolution
  • American history
  • British Empire
  • British history

All titles

Description

Common Sense presented the American colonists with an argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of whether or not to seek independence was the central issue of the day. Washington had it read to all his troops, which at the time had surrounded the British army in Boston. Common Sense explained the advantages of and the need for immediate independence so clearly and simply that the text inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain.

Author

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) had the rare gift of making radical ideas feel like common sense. Common Sense helped turn colonial grievance into a republic; The Rights of Man carried that fire back across the Atlantic; later The Age of Reason scandalised the pious without losing his faith in human dignity. Paine wrote for taverns and barracks, not for salons — short sentences, large claims, a nerve that still startles.

More by Thomas Paine

Other editions