Thomas Paine

Abstract

Thomas Paine's Common Sense is the most brilliant pamphlet written during the American Revolution, and one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language. It was written by an Englishman, not an American. Paine had only the barest acquaintance with American affairs when, with Benjamin Rush's encouragement, he turned an invitation by Burt Franklin to write a history of the Anglo-American controversy into the occasion for composing a passionate tract for American independence. For its prose alone, Common Sense would be a notable document—unique among the pamphlets of the American Revolution. Its phraseology is deeply involving—at times clever, at times outrageous, frequently startling in imagery and penetration—and becomes more vivid as the pamphlet progresses. Common Sense is lacking in close rigor of argumentation. Again and again Paine's logic can be seen to be grossly deficient. His impatience with following through with his arguments at certain points becomes almost amusing.