Ĭommon Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration in either Britain or the American colonies. As of 2006, it remains the all-time best-selling American title and is still in print today. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history. It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. Arguing for a republican form of government under a written constitution, it played a key role in rallying American support for independence.Ĭommon Sense is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.
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