Common Sense

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Common Sense is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation. Published in Philadelphia, Common Sense was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. 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. As of 2026, it remains the all-time best-selling American title and is still in print today. Common Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration in Britain or the American colonies. In England...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Scanned by uploader, originally by Thomas Paine., Public domain