Common Sense

By Thomas Paine and Harvey Kaye

Packaged in handsome, affordable trade editions, Clydesdale Classics is a new series of essential works. From the musings of famed scholars such as Plato in Republic to the striking personal narrative of Harriet Jacobs in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, this new series is a comprehensive collection of our intellectual history through the words of the exceptional few.

Common Sense is a compelling work written by famed philosopher and political thinker Thomas Paine to champion the United States’ independence from Great Britain. It is often dubbed the bestselling American title of all time, proportionately, although no sales numbers were recorded to support this claim. The pamphlet addresses the issues with monarchy and tyranny in England, as well as the problems with the English Constitution. Additionally, Paine comments on the capabilities of America as an independent nation, as well as its contemporary state of affairs.

With its sensible and beautiful prose, as well as the inclusion of a brand-new foreword by historian Harvey J. Kaye, this edition of Paine’s Common Sense is sure to spark passion and pride in American readers just as it did 240 years ago.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clydesdale
• Release date: Jan 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781945186370

Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine (1736-1809) was an English born American activist, philosopher, and author. Before moving to America, Paine worked as a stay maker, but would often get fired for his questionable business practices. Out of a job, separated from his wife, and falling into debt, Paine decided to move to America for a fresh start. There, he not only made a fresh start for himself, but helped pave the way for others, too. Paine was credited to be a major inspiration for the American Revolution. His series of pamphlets affected American politics by voicing concerns that were not yet intellectually considered by early American society.

Book preview

First published in 1776 by R. Bell, Philadelphia

First Clydesdale Press Edition 2018

All rights to any and all materials in copyright owned by the publisher are strictly reserved by the publisher.

Foreword © 2018 by Harvey J. Kaye

Clydesdale books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or [e-mail].

Clydesdale Press™ is a pending trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Series design by Brian Peterson

Cover artwork credit: iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-945186-32-5

eISBN: 978-1-945186-37-0

Printed in the United States of America

Man knows no Master save creating HEAVEN

Or those whom choice and common good ordain.

—THOMSON.

CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in general, with concise Remarks on the English Constitution.

Chapter II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession.

Chapter III. Thoughts on the present State of American Affairs.

Chapter IV. Of the present Ability of America, with some miscellaneous Reflections.

Appendix

A new edition, with several additions in the body of the work. To which is added an APPENDIX; together with an address to the people called Quakers.

FOREWORD

Encouraged to immigrate to America from England by the renowned Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine arrived in Philadelphia in late 1774—and what he saw of this country and its people tremendously impressed him. Americans were not just in a state of rebellion—a rebellion against British Parliamentary authority, the British Empire, and the British Crown—but also, as he recognized, already governing themselves. He did not immediately join the struggle, but the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 were to turn him into a patriot and a revolutionary writer. And on January 10, 1776, he published the pamphlet Common Sense and turned Americans themselves into revolutionaries. History would never be the same.

Born in 1737, the son of an English Quaker artisan and an Anglican mother, Paine had a career before coming to America that included corset making, privateering, tax collecting, preaching, teaching, labor campaigning, and shopkeeping, punctuated by bouts of poverty, the loss of two wives, business bankruptcy, and dismissal from British government service (twice!). And yet as much as he had come to despise kingly rule, aristocratic privilege, and religious establishments for their oppression, exploitation, and corruption, Paine did not pick up his pen to assail the British Crown, Constitution, and Empire out of anger alone.

It was his love for America that made Paine a radical writer. Struck by the country’s extraordinary prospects and possibilities, and moved by the spirit and determination of its people to resist British authority, Paine devoted himself to the American cause.

But what was the American cause? Americans thought of themselves as British. They were rebelling because they believed that their rights as freeborn Englishmen were being denied. They were seeking a change in the imperial order, not independence.

Paine’s Common Sense changed all of that.

In Common Sense, Paine not only emboldened his new compatriots to turn their colonial rebellion into a historic revolutionary war. He also defined the new nation in a democratically expansive and progressive fashion and articulated an American identity charged with exceptional purpose and promise.

In the autumn of 1775, Paine devoted himself to preparing his pamphlet. History beckoned; he could not delay. He had to disabuse Americans of their lingering British attachments, cultivate in them a vision of their possibilities, and get them to believe they could actually beat the British. He held nothing back. He summoned forth memories of Britain and impressions of America. He marshaled Scripture, history, natural philosophy, and political theory. He bound his rage, hopes, and aspirations with those of his fellow citizens-to-be. He invoked the powers of reason, passion, and Providence. And he poured it all into less than fifty pages.

Paine showed Americans that they were naturally democratic—indeed, that men and women universally were naturally democratic—and that monarchy was an illegitimate imposition that over and over again brought folly, war, and ruin. He showed them that they were not even British but American and that the British Empire was keeping them from realizing their historic prospects and possibilities. He showed them that they owed it to themselves, to their children, and to humanity ever after to act immediately in favor of independence and democratic republicanism. And he showed them that they actually had the wherewithal and resources to defeat the greatest power in history and create the democratic nation-state that they truly desired. (However, knowing the sheer horror democracy would strike in the hearts of the elite, Paine never actually used the word itself in the pamphlet.)

Sincerely believing that The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth, Paine enabled Americans to recognize who they were and what they needed to do. But it was never simply a matter of separating from Britain.

Paine’s own experience, reinforced by what he witnessed in America, convinced him that working people—farmers, artisans, laborers, and shopkeepers—not just the highborn and propertied, had the capacity both to comprehend the world and to govern it. And addressing his arguments not merely to the governing elites, but all the more to those who traditionally were excluded from political debate and deliberation, he democratically transformed the very idea of politics and the political nation.

Paine was a confident character, but he claimed no great originality for his ideas. Repeatedly he would say that that the originality truly lay within Americans themselves. As he would later observe, Here [in America] the value and quality of liberty, the nature of government, and the dignity of man, were known and understood, and the attachment of the Americans to these principles produced the Revolution, as a natural and almost unavoidable consequence.

Utterly rejecting the old political and social order of monarchs, aristocrats, and state churches, and concerned about disunity among the states-to-be, Paine called for an American charter—a constitution authorized and empowered by the people that would not only create a national government, but also guarantee freedom to all, above all else freedom of conscience and worship.

Paine valued Americans’ religious diversity—Philadelphia itself was a city of Anglicans, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Dutch Calvinists, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, Moravians, Catholics, and Jews—and he extolled America’s religious pluralism: I fully and conscientiously believe, that it is the will of the Almighty that there should be a diversity of religious opinions among us. And in that spirit, he challenged the established orders in Congregational-dominated New England and the Church of England/Anglican-dominated South, and called for the separation of Church and State: "As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of government to protect all

Reviews for Common Sense

[jbd1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The little pamphlet that won the Revolution.

[jonfaith · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise, she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion.

Unfortunate that the knee-jerk Right has appropriated this polished wit. I can't see how is reconciles with the specks of froth about emails and birth certificates. Baggage eschewed, this remains a powerful pamphlet, a catalyst for defiance. Not as convincing as J.S. Mill, but one rife with images and optimism.

[jnmwheels · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Quotes to remember:

Time makes more converts than reason.
“The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first a patron, the last a punisher.

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

[mrgreg_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

These essays could be written yesterday. They are so timely, even today.

[heidip_38 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Common Sense was written to show that the logical course of action during the Revolutionary War was to declare Independence from Great Britain. It is only natural that we should sever our ties from our Parent Country--after all, she is like a mother devouring her children, and really we are descended from all the countries of Europe, not just England. Our parent country was Europe. Now that the Revolutionary War has started we have no other course. From here on out England would not act in the best interest of its colonies--they would only act in their own self-interest. It would not be in England's best interest to have a strong America. We don't need Great Britain to defend our coastlines, anyway--how can they. If we had a threat to our coastline Britain would be 3,000 miles away. Their response would be severely delayed. We don't have a navy, but we could build one. We have all the natural resources here in America--wood, tar, etc. And we have plenty of seafaring men in Boston who are now out of a job because the British have closed Boston Harbor.Thus go his arguments one after another for the logical reasons why we should declare our independence. He encourages the colonists that Americans can write their own constitution and form their own government. The government should be based on law and focus on security and freedom. This is a 5 star book.

[marshapetry · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you ("you" as in US citizens) haven't read this book, you should. And the narrator gives it all the force and emotion needed to be read as it should (audiobook)! Great!

[beau0p0laurence · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic, and a pivotal work, in U.S. history.

[elfortunawe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Paine has few rivals in the ability to impress an idea on the mind of a reader. At times Common Sense can seem a bit ambitious in the level of certainty it aspires to, but this is propaganda. What seemed most striking to me was the combination of this propaganda with an impressive intelligence. The Founding Fathers were true statesmen: well-read and capable with both reason and rhetoric (qualities rarely found in public figures these days). Paine states early on that he intends to write in clear and uncluttered prose, but still maintains a strong sense of both urgency and dignity with the spare resources he allows himself. Reading this has whet my appetite for more writing from this period.

[gopfolk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Paine did a great job explaining to the common man why it was necessary to break away from Britain. While many of were made to read this when we were young it is always good to go back to these classics and re-read them with a more mature mind set.This weekend we celebrate our 235 year as a free country and these documents are important to read and re-read throughout our lives to ensure that we remember why we are the country we are.Happy Independence Day!

[unionhawk_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nice short read. Interesting to see what someone like Thomas Paine was actually thinking at the time of the American Revolution. I would recommend reading it, even though I did not exactly love reading it. It was good, but not awesome.

[nittnut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Required reading - well worth the time - and quite entertaining.Favorite quote:"One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion."Another quote, which I find very applicable to current politics:"Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things."It's short, entertaining and very, very good. Read it. Borrow my copy.

[carlinemaserati · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It seems wrong to rate a masterpiece that changed the course of American History. It's like rating the Constitution or the works of Plato. I give it five stars because it is READABLE. The words are still easy to understand and moving. The first paragraph of this historic pamphlet is guaranteed to make your blood hot.

[diwanna_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As powerful today as it was 240 years ago. So short, should be required reading for all Americans. Society promotes our happiness by uniting our affections, government negatively by restraining our vices.

[bnielsen_30 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Indeholder "Common Sense", "Agrarian Justice"."Common Sense" handler om ???"Agrarian Justice" handler om ???Dette værk satte fut i den amerikanske frihedstanke, hvilket alene er nok til at sikre det et langt liv. Men derudover er det meget velskrevet.

[sgerbic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed Sept. 2006 A nice common sense argument against British rule over America. Published at just the right time - King George III’s speech was released at the same time. Paine mentions this in his appendix but I wish the King’s speech was included in this volume. Paine also includes an essay to Quakers apparently some Quakers had published a testimony supporting (?) the King. Paine tells them that as Quakers they should not involve themselves “ye ought not to be meddlers on the other, but to wait the issue in silence.” (p.57) He also tells them, “mingling religion with politics may be disavowed...by every inhabitant of American.” What a hyprocrit Payne is because throughout his main essay he appeals to religion for reasons to overthrow the King. Payne makes excellent points against hereditary passing the throne, “in the next succession...rogue or a fool.” (p. 13) If all men are born equal, how can someone’s children rule forever? The first King probably was a bully or tyrant what gives him superiority? Payne feels that an island 3000 mies away should not govern a large continent. Also it takes 3-4 months to get direction from the Mother country. England has enemies, America has none, why should we not be able to side with whom we want, or stay our of events and wars not of our choosing? 23-2006

[ashryan_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Men read by way of revenge."A forerunner of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Common Sense should properly be regarded (at least in a historical, though not a legal, sense) as one of the founding documents of this nation.Paine makes the case for independence in strong moral terms, clearly based on the Enlightenment political theories of John Locke. The list he gives of the Crown's abuses should already be familiar to the reader from the Declaration (Jefferson did not give sufficient credit to Paine for his obvious influence on that document), though Paine's recounting is somewhat more detailed, as he could treat the topic at greater length in his pamphlet.Paine also offers suggestions in some detail about a Constitutional Congress and the drafting of such a document, and based on the course of subsequent events it seems that the other Founders took Paine's suggestions to heart.And of course, few other books in history (and particularly non-fiction works, since art can have a power that plain argument does not) have so effectively rallied public opinion.Read this book. You will be surprised, even if your expectations were already high, and you will certainly be inspired.

[orfishome · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Viewed through Colonial eyes, it would have indeed been revolutionary. I enjoyed the Bibilical history parallels.

[xenchu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't understand why this book is not required reading in school, indeed why it not a required study. It is one of the basis of the American political structure. What Paine wrote is one of the foundations of Independence.I will not discuss the contents of the book (actually a pamphlet and quite short). I urge everyone to read it for themselves.

[carlar_82074 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read this a few times now. If anyone has any interest at all in American history then this book is a must read.

[hermit_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

[melydia_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure I read excerpts from this in school many years ago. I'd forgotten most of the specifics but the general idea (yay independence, boo monarchy) is pretty plain. I was a little surprised by how similar the eventual US government became to the British system, given how much time Paine spends complaining about it. (Granted, he spends even more time complaining about the idea of hereditary power.) I was also struck by how "religious freedom" only included Christians. Freedom of religion is one of the basic rights in the Constitution, and yet here we have one of the biggest advocates completely ignoring most of the religions of the world (including the Deism of many of his contemporaries, though it's not explicitly stated). In short, it was a very important and influential book, well worth reading by any American who wishes to learn more about the early days of their own country. It also really stretches today's definition of "pamphlet".

[teresa_pelka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much has changed between Europe and America, in the hundreds of years since the American Revolution. The observation that independent existence is both natural and beneficial remains true, and is likely to be true in the future. Thomas Paine's Common Sense is a worthwhile read, not only as a book to have been part in an important event, but also as one to resist times and change, on human need of independence.

[coffee5is5yum · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, this was written in 1776 and during a time completely different than our modern era. A review from my perspective wouldn't really be fair...but here it goes.I found the beginning more interesting than the end. The idea of hereditary succession was interesting. I enjoyed reading Paine thrashing the British monarchy, that took a lot of courage to not sugar coat. He did a great job, though I do think it might could have been a little shorter. Some of the ideas I thought were a bit long-winded.I think a fascinating thing is while reading and thinking the ideas are brilliant...you then begin realizing everything Paine is pointing to is just "common sense." I guess readers just needed it pulled from their thoughts and placed in a more rational line of thinking.Great man. Sad life.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very appropriate book to be reviewing on the Fourth of July! This is the argument that started the American Revolution - the argument that a break from British ties is the only way to make America great. His arguments are both very persuasive (as a 21st century reader, I found myself agreeing with him on all points) and is very enlightening on the politics of the time.I found it difficult to read at some points - the shift in language required me to read the same passages multiple times to understand it. And sometimes, a sentence only made sense in the context of the larger page. But- the arguments are very clear. I think all politicians should read this book - as a country, I think America have gone away from the intent of elected officials. Thomas Paine makes it very clear the best government is when each person gets to vote on an issue but when populations are too large second best is vote for a representative.This is a book of it's time... There are non-politically correct references to "Savages" of Africa and Native Indians. It is very clear that Thomas Paine was writing to an audience who thought Christianity was the most "Civilized" religion. I say this because the introduction indicates that Thomas Paine was Deist and was against slavery. So, was he writing to his audience? or did he actually believe what he wrote. It is an interesting question.

[hmskip · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This little book is actually chockful of common sense as the title implies. It outlines the source and purpose of legitimate government in the early chapters and proceeds logically to its application to the American situation of that day. Although most of the discussion is specific to the 1775 conditions in America, the general truths, of which there are many examples, are of an almost eternal nature. The book is good to read also because it demonstrates a depth of reasoning that was highly prized in that earlier age, but that is so lacking in the present day. Today, the sound-bite dominates the political and philosophical scene. Paine could not have captured the public imagination as much as he did by means of a series of tweets, but he did so by a carefully thought out system based on logic and reason.

[histreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A must read "pamphlet" of the day, which, is uncommonly apropos to today! In Common Sense, Mr. Paine deconstructs the monarchy of Great Britain and its destroys its concept of empire; where by, he cries for the independence of a continent from a tiny island crown.In his essay, he lays out a framework which fairly closely resembles today's republican government of America. I found some of his most famous and repeated line, yet found myself underlining much more.

[martinbodek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Paine is my favorite writer's (the late Christopher Hitchens) favorite writer, and therefore my responsibility to experience. Upon reading, I quickly understood the admiration. Paine, like Hitchens, is an enviously eloquent silver-tongued wordplayer who holds immoral sycophants to account for their cowardice. For shame that this was not part of my curriculum. How could a work like this be buried in general, purportedly as a result of future quasi-antitheistic work? This writing should be judged upon its own merits. History should have been kinder, as it is a masterpiece of reasoning and rationalism and a supreme galvanizer of men.

[renzomalo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Like all dated material, a little bit of a challenge to get through, but well worth the effort. In this brief little book, Paine lays out the underlying rationale of the country's founding and impetus for the revolution. Long story short: the King is not law: the Law is king. Nuff said.

[bragan_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Paine's seminal 1776 publication arguing in favor of independence for the American colonies, and against further attempts at reconciliation with England.As important historical documents go, this one has the benefit of being short, accessible, and still surprisingly readable nearly 250 years later. Some of Paine's arguments are better than others, and his opinions about the function of government look very simplistic from my 21st century perspective, although there is no doubt there are still plenty of people who think much the same way even now. But he does a great rant about why the whole concept of hereditary monarchies is irrational and morally bankrupt, and you can certainly see why he got people fired up and ready to get their rebellion on.It also provides a fascinating sense of perspective to watch an important figure from the past thinking about the legacy the actions of his own time are going to leave for posterity, when you yourself are that posterity.Rating: I'm giving this one a 4/5, as an interesting and painless-to-read window into history. (No pun intended.)