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History: A discussion of Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ article
Qn.1
All men are equal
Paine begins his argument by asserting the natural order of things that God ordained in men; that is, all men are equal. He, therefore, questions the way the British Empire could believe themselves to be extraordinary beings to the extent of subjecting the Americans to slavery by making all their important life decisions. Paine further notes that men and women are distinguished by nature, the good, and evil by faith. However, he wonders what kind of distinction assigns some human beings to be the rulers, in other words, the kings while the rest remain the subjects. According to Paine, it is unnatural and unfair for some human beings to believe themselves to be of more importance than the others. In his argument, Paine holds that hereditary monarchy through which the British exercise its ...view middle of the document...
He also believes that commerce in America can maintain peaceful relationships with the Europe. Moreover, scarcity of precious stones such as gold in America would keep invaders away hence no need for British protection.
Qn.2
Paine’s article was powerful in shaping the public opinion in favor of independence because it was politically inclusive. Unlike the previous writings, which were elite-oriented, his publication adopted a new writing style that engaged all people regardless of their education levels. Paine’s article was effective because its arguments were based on logic and common sense. His argument were focused on eliciting self-evaluation on Americans. He motivated every individual to assess the importance of British governorship over his or her lives. He further instigated questions to enlighten every person that the British had critically violated the God given rights. He gave perfect examples of how the American rights had been violated. These were the rights of freedom and treating each man as an equal. Moreover, England had further subjected their challengers to death penalties and thus America was concerned by the gross violation of the natural order. Paine was concerned that the British had exalted themselves as a special kind of creature. Furthermore, he wondered their significance on the lives of the Americans. Through his simple to understand argument, Paine was certain to influence every individual to fight for his or her independence. If at all, they believed in a free world. Paine encouraged those against America getting its independence to enlighten him of the advantages they gained by being subjects of the British super powers. As such, he inspired people to debate amongst themselves the gains and losses of fighting for their independence. Paine’s style of writing was conversational. The sentiments he expressed through his article depicted his personal feelings for the British. Anybody in his situation could thus relate to him, which was vital for motivating a revolution against the dictatorship of the British.
