Thomas Paine’s Common Sense | Primary Source Essentials
In this episode of Primary Source Essentials, explore Common Sense by Thomas Paine and its powerful role in the American Revolution. Published in January 1776, Common Sense made a bold case for American independence, attacking monarchy and hereditary rule while calling the British king a threat to natural rights and liberty.
Paine argued for republican government, popular sovereignty, and the idea that in a republic “the law is king.” By promoting a continental American identity rooted in liberty and equality, Common Sense became a bestseller that helped build popular support for independence and influenced the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
0:00 Welcome to Primary Source Essentials.
0:02 In this episode, we are going to briefly examine the significance of Thomas
0:07 Paine’s Common Sense on American independence.
0:11 In early 1776, the American colonies were at war with the British Empire.
0:17 Patriot armies had fought and bled at the battles of Lexington, Concord,
0:22 and Bunker Hill, and 32,000
0:26 more redcoats and Hessian mercenaries were on the way.
0:30 John and Samuel Adams and their allies
0:32 in the Second Continental Congress for pushing for independence.
0:36 But but others disagreed.
0:39 The moderates resented British oppression,
0:42 but they were not ready to separate from Great Britain.
0:45 They just wanted to restore the colonial relationship
0:49 with Britain and be treated more justly.
0:52 In January 1776, the journalist Thomas Paine
0:56 published a fiery pamphlet entitled Common Sense
1:00 to support American independence from Great Britain and Common Sense.
1:05 Paine makes three as central points.
1:09 First he
1:10 used history and scripture to argue that monarchy, especially hereditary
1:16 monarchy, was bad because kings and queens
1:19 all had a thirst for absolute power.
1:23 The British king was oppressive and violated the equal rights of the people.
1:28 For this reason, Paine called him a royal brute.
1:32 Therefore, Americans must declare independence and separate
1:36 from Great Britain.
1:38 Second, he advocated republican
1:40 government with representation of the people
1:44 who were citizens, not subjects.
1:47 The representatives would be selected by the people in frequent elections,
1:52 and the purpose of government was to protect the rights of the people.
1:57 He thought in republics the law is king,
2:01 not the arbitrary will of the monarch.
2:05 Third, he envisioned a continental American republic
2:09 based upon a common American identity rooted in liberty and equality.
2:16 Common sense became a national bestseller.
2:19 Is so the 150,000 copies
2:22 and a population of only 2.5 million, and circulated to an even larger
2:27 audience when it was shared and read aloud.
2:31 Most importantly, common sense stirred popular support for independence.
2:36 In the spring of 1776, the Second Continental Congress
2:41 debated the issue and declared independence.
2:44 On July 4th, 1776.
2:48 Thanks for watching and check out the other videos in Primary Source Essentials.
