More handpicked essays just for you.
Thomas Paine's view on independence
Thomas paine american independence essay
Thomas Paine and his contributions
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Thomas Paine was an independent thinker that contemplated revolutionary ideas. He came to America to begin anew but saw that the American Colonists were only fighting the unfair taxes the British forced upon them and not for their complete independence. He wanted to convey to the colonists that they had a choice and wrote many pamphlets and works about the subject of independence. Paine was such an eloquent writer convincing many of his points of view. He boldly dedicated himself to exploring the political and religious implications of reason and logic. As he writes in the dedication to The Age of Reason, “The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is Reason. I have never used any other, and I trust I never shall” (351). In Common Sense, when concluding that the colonies should separate themselves from England, he writes, “It is repugnant to reason, to the universal order of things, to all examples from …show more content…
former ages, to suppose that this continent can longer remain subject to any external power” (29). Without question, Thomas Paine was a skillful devotee to the cause of reason. Like other Enlightenment thinkers, he was willing to make inquiries and follow a line of reasoning to its logical conclusions without regard to public reaction. While Paine was devoted to reason and rational argumentation, he was also a passionate communicator and utilized rhetorical tricks to move his readers. Paine employs the techniques of Pathos, a rhetoric device using emotion to enhance the structural Logos of this argument.
While the use of Pathos increases as the essay progresses, this early statement illustrates Paine’s skill. “I know it difficult to get over local or long standing prejudices, yet if we will suffer ourselves to examine the component parts of the English constitution, we shall find them to be the base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded with some new republican materials” (68). Paine encourages his readers to open their minds to new information and dispassionate reason so they can look at the situation at hand rationally. He then introduces an objective classification system and utilities powerfully negative word choice. He only uses 46 words, but keeps the pace emotionally charged. It is an effective technique: reason prevails but the emotions are engaged. With only his words he was able to change peoples minds which kick started the revolution and eventually would lead to influencing the Declaration of
Independence. Thomas Paine was a skilled writer and a revolutionary philosopher in his time. He wanted America not only free from taxation but from Britain. He believed that the colonies could come together and create a central government. The way Paine put forth his ideas was through pamphlets which became increasingly popular because of the rhetorical power it help persuading common and rich alike.
Silent Spring is one of the most important books of the environmental movement. It was one of the first scientific books to talk about destruction of habitat by humans. As a result, one can imagine that Ms. Rachel Carson needed to be quite persuasive. How does she achieve this? In this excerpt from Silent Spring, Carson utilizes the rhetorical devices of hyperbole, understatement, and rhetorical questions to state the necessity of abolishing the practice of using poisons such as parathion. Carson starts out by using the symbiotic nature of hyperbole and understatement to paint the whole practice as dangerous and unnecessary. She further strengthens her argument by using rhetorical questions to make her readers see the ethical flaws and potential casualties caused by deadly pesticides.
Paine’s use of language to appeal both to his reader’s reason and emotion has given him the advantage of creating an emotional connection between himself and the reader, attempting to raise their spirits and show them what could be, while also asking them to put their own minds to the problem at hand. Asking them to make sense of their current situation. He gives hope and then appeals to their ability to discern what is best for their new world. By doing this, he has presented reason after reason for them to declare independence before he practically turned to them and said “Don’t you think so?” the only ‘reasonable’ answer would at that point be, “Yes of course Mr. Paine you’re completely right!”
Thomas Paine constructs Common Sense as an editorial on the subject of the relationship between the Colonies and Great Britain. Through the paper, he hopes to educate his fellow Americans about this subject. In his introduction, he says he feels that there is 'a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong'; which 'gives it a superficial appearance of being right'; (693). He is alluding to the relationship, also calling it a 'violent abuse of power'; (693). This choice of words is similar to those of Jefferson, who asserts that the king had established an 'absolute tyranny'; over the states. Both men set an immediate understanding about their feelings towards the rule of Great Britain over the States. However, where Common Sense seems to be an opinionated essay, Thomas Jefferson writes somewhat of a call to battle. Paine generally seems to be alerting his readers to the fact that there is more going on than they are aware of. Jefferson, on the other hand, begins his declaration by stating, 'When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another'; (715). Unlike Paine, this seems to presuppose that readers are aware of the plight of the nation, and Jefferson is announcing that the time has come to take a stand.
The eighteenth century, a time of turmoil and chaos in the colonies, brought many opinionated writers to the forefront in support or refutation of the coming American Revolution. This highly controversial war that would ultimately separate the future United States of America from Great Britain became the center of debate. Two writers, both of whom supported the Revolution, now stand to fully illuminate one side of the debate. Thomas Paine, a radical propagandist, wrote many pieces during this time including “The Crisis Number 1” (1776). Through writing, he appealed to the “common man” in order to convince them to gather their arms and fight for their freedom. In this document, he utilizes many of the same rhetorical skills and propaganda techniques as Patrick Henry, a convincing orator, did in his famous speech delivered to the state’s delegates in 1775. Among these techniques are transfer, abstract language, and pathos. In both works, these were used to call the audiences to war. These influential pieces both contained a call to action which, through the use of strong and decisive language, aided the beginning of the American Revolution.
The language used in Common Sense is that of a leader hoping to inspire his followers to heed his warning and answer his call. Paine's audience was the people of the colonies, he wanted them to realize that the oppression of the crown has not limit and sure there were benefits of belonging to the crown, there were far more oppression beyond measure that comes with such benefits.
Thomas Paine wrote the Common Sense and in this pamphlet he wrote about America’s separation and independence from Great Britain. His argument stated that America is a large continent and we are in charge of our own fate and direction (Paine 107). Paine further explained that people migrated to America to escape the control of the King and his laws. Paine introduced a theory when comparing America to a small island, that it is possible if separated we can come together and make our own laws and run the country as we see fit (Paine 109). Paine believes that we are no longer in need of Britain’s help and that we can eventually form alliances with other countries as we stand alone outside of Britain’s control.
Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his pen and paper to urge the public to break free from Great Brittan. He wrote anonymously, yet addressed the public as he spoke out about his beliefs. The first pamphlet he published, influencing independence from Brittan, was called Common Sense
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson appeals to patriotism. Jefferson ensures this by persuading the colonists to become self-governing. He tries to let all of the people of the New World understand that they have protested and defended themselves against the British for all of the corrupt acts the British have committed upon the colonists. Jefferson’s tone in the Declaration of Independence portrays how tiresome he has grown of the British rule after all of the deception towards Americans. Included within the idea of patriotism, is the idea of loyalty to the fundamental values and principles underlying American democracy. Thomas Paine also provides patriotism to get advocates for the movement to separate from the British forces. Correspondingly, Paine persuades Americans that they will prosper in numerous areas without the control of the British saying, “Is the power who is jealous of our prosperity, a proper power to govern us? Whoever says No to this question is an independent, for independency means no more, than, whether we shall make our own laws…” (Paine). Paine uses a demanding tone to convince Americans that if they should accept the ties with Britain, it will bring ruin and distress to the
Paine had not entertained the idea of independence from Britain when he arrived in America. He thought it was “a kind of treason” to break away from Britain. It was not until the Battle of Lexington in 1775 that he considered “the compact between Britain and America to be broken” (Claeys). This idea of a broken compact allowed Thomas Paine to write a political pamphlet.
He questioned the reason why the colonialists could not break ties with Britain. He highlighted all the hardships and believe by many that England and its monarch be believed and revered. Thomas Paine also incorporates religion into his style to all people to his viewpoint the king’s rule is unrighteous “ given us up to the devils” (Digital History). He also mentioned fear as a factor that Britain had employed in other parts, but he thanks God he knew the situation well (Digital History). A Thomas Paine argument was that colonialists should continue fighting even in the face of defeat because giving up would be a greater price pay. According to Thomas Paine, America “will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion.” and America will be in a “worse ruin than any we have yet thought of,” if the colonies don’t unite and continue fighting Britain. This point of view is helpful in understanding how his ideas worked to give an extra push for independence and foresee the crises that would come during the war.
The initial paragraphs of Paine’s pamphlet establish to his audience that he is a reliable figure. While Paine talks about the journey they have gone so far, he tells his audience about their status in the war so far by saying, “we did not make a proper use of last winter, neither could we were in a dependent state” (108). By starting out with igniting the start of getting the audience angry, Paine then goes on to kill the flame a little by blaming the audience of their position so far, but is able to keep his audience on his path by blaming himself in his words by using the inclusive pronoun “we”. Continuing on by saying that, “the fault if it were one, was all our own… But no great deal is lost yet”, then goes on to have his audience still on his path, but then starts to build himself up as a reliable figure by saying that he believes that they are not finished yet and evoking the spirit that they can do it. Besides this initial effort to have his audience trust and believe his words, a common enemy begins to be established between Paine and the audience in which he goes on to say, “God Almighty will not give ...
That belief caused him to create a book about the age of reason. Thomas Paine had a powerful impact on colonist minds by creating “Common Sense”. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet that helped cause the Continental Army to form, and to make a colonist turn against the British. He influenced the Americans to fight for their rights that the king had taken away from them; their natural born rights. Paine said “If Britain is our motherland, then why would she treat her kids badly?”
Thomas Paine was an activist for many causes throughout his lifetime including the abolition of slavery, government rule by democracy rather than a monarchy, and in later years about what he believed were falsehoods in the Bible. He was an advocate for freedom of the people and his writings were often controversial. He believed in democracy and leaned toward rule by the common man. After becoming a friend of Benjamin Franklin, he traveled to the colonies. While in the colonies his writings on the American Revolution caused him to become an enemy of the British Government. When he returned to Great Britain his writings as a proponent for the French Revolution caused him to have to flee to France to avoid arrest. His political stance in France eventually caused him to be imprisoned and he eventually had to flee again to the United States to escape long-term imprisonment. He traveled quite a bit and was able to see firsthand the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Thomas Paine was a gifted writer, and he was very devoted to his causes. He is extremely famous for his pamphlet Common Sense which he wrote about what he felt was the necessity for American independence and later had an input into the Constitution of the United States of America. There were a number of gifted male writers during this timeframe who wrote about the same issues, including Edmund Burke, so even though he was a revolutionary writer, he was not unique.
Astounding inventor and founding father of America, Benjamin Franklin writes a letter to Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, about the existence of God. Paine is strongly against the thought of a provincial God and Franklin is straight up telling him that his opinion won’t be popular, based on the large amount of religious people who would riot against him. Paine sent a manuscript of the advocation of the providential God to Franklin for advice and suggestions because he has had complications with his political writings. But this particular piece of his writing, will not be as admired as some of his other famous works.
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense is arguably one of the most important written documents in American history. His use of rhetorical devices and rhetorical appeals is unrivaled by any other historical writer. His use of “common sense” stresses how important his arguments are. It’s no wonder that Paine’s Common Sense didn’t go unnoticed – it does an extremely well job conveying the feeling that Paine intended readers to feel.