The Influential Pamphlets by Thomas Paine Essay

Thomas Paine is known for being the author of two very wellknown books in the eighteenthcentury. Those books are Common Sense and The American Crisis. Many people back then looked at Thomas as an outcast due to his personal beliefs written in his book Common Sense because they deviated from the norm of society. That was a hardship that Thomas faced his whole life. In Thomas Paines Common Sense, Paine starts off by saying, "Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of the custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason" (Baym 324). Basically stating that he knows his ideas that follow aren't popular at the moment but once people think about what he is trying to say, they'll see that separating from Britain is the best thing for America. In Common Sense, he also states But the injuries and disadvantages which we sustain by that connection, are without number and our duty to mankind at large, as well as to ourselves, instruct us to renounce the alliance (Baym 328) He continues further about all the reasons why they should split up and how Britain is taking advantage of them throughout the rest of his book. At the time, that was extremely radical because the colonists were tied to Britain in a lot of ways. Britain was their major source for numerous things and the colonists were under their control for a very long time. The people were fearful from breaking away because they did not know what was going to happen to them if they did and they feared the consequences. Thomas originally published the book anonymously but the book sold so many copies that they could no longer keep it a secret. This revelation was followed inevitably by the charge of treason (Baym 324).Thomas was also in and out of prison multiple times because of his writing in other books as well. Thomas Paine also wrote The American Crisis, which was a series of multiple pamphlets. The first volume of The Crisis was the most important because it was a motivational speech to not walk away from what they were fighting and to stand up for what they believe in. It urged them to demand their independence from Britain. According to Edward Gallagher, "General Washington had Crisis 1 read to the troops before crossing the Delaware on Christmas day and, against all odds, defeating the Hessians in what was the first patriot victory and an early turning point in the war". The book was very successful and helped to motivate the troops during this time. Even though all Thomas was trying to do was help people see that their connection to Britain was hurting them, they still thought of him poorly until the end of his time.