Thomas Paine Common Sense

Common Sense

Common Sense by Thomas Paine a primary source written to convey a direct message to the colonist to part ways with a chaotic force known as the British. Common Sense was written around 1776 at the established time where there was a lot of tension between England and its colonies. It is expressed that here is no hope of reconciliation with the British for they have caused too much damage that broke ties with the colonies. Thomas Paine gives various amounts of reasons as to why an independent America is needed, and why such a system that is placed on the colonies is outdated and plainly does not make any sense. The colonies need to be established as a country of their own with their own form of government.

Thomas Paine brings

to light that there is a distinction between society and government. In Common Sense he mentions that “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.” Thomas Paine expresses that society exist because of the things we want, meaning that we shape our surroundings to our liking.

Without a government there is no order and the people will basically suffer. A government is needed but not just any government, a great government one that is designed for the representation of the people. This kind of government that the colonist needed is not that type of government that England had which is a monarchy. A monarch government is corrupt unjust and, also to make it even worse it is hereditary. Having a hereditary monarch government means that only the kings children at any age, will rule and so on. A young rulers judgment can be swayed be others and would end up make decisions that will negatively affect their country. This proven in Common Sense as mentioned by Paine that, “evil of monarchy we have added that of hereditary succession…. for all men being originally equal no one by birth could have the right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever.” A monarch government is corrupt

and is not the necessary type of government the colonies should be ruled by. The type of government that is right for colonies is a government that supports the people. A government where there are elected officials that would represent the people. As Thomas Paine mentioned that the colonies would be divided in parts and each part will send representatives to represent that region that will share that sections view in a bigger body of representatives. With this type of government, the people would be happy as Paine mention the government wouldn’t reply on the king but the strength of the government itself and those who are governed by it. Now that the colonies have a type of government in mind do they really need the British? They can form their own government and prosper on their own.
The British were also very one-sided to the colonies in the fashion they treated them. The colonies weren’t treated equally. The colonist were restricted to trade so they had to depend on their mother country Britain for imports and supply. This was just the beginning the colonist let this go because after all Britain was their mother country. Tension began when after the French and Indian War Britain established a proclamation line in 1763 that prohibited the colonist to settle beyond this region known as the application mountains. Again in 1765 the Quartering Act was pass where the colonist had to let British solders in their home against their own will and give them basically whatever they wanted. To make matters worse, Britain also needed money to pay for its war so it decided to pass the Stamp act in 1765 and also passed the Townsend Acts in 1767 where colonist had to pay taxes on imported goods. The colonist were angry that these were all passed by England where they weren’t represented. Britain clearly did not really care about the colonist, they only cared about themselves. Britain only used the colonies to their advantage, hence the many acts that were placed against them. This is proven in common sense when Paine stated, “her motive was interest not attachment; that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account.”
The colonies were at a point where they had enough of a population and capability to break away from their mother country.

Paine mentioned that “It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies”. The colonies were in no debt, and could build a navy that can match that of the British and defend themselves. It even has plenty of natural resources available and if it needs to pay back debt it has plenty of uncharted land to the west it can sell. At the time stated in common sense the navy of England is not worth more than three million and a half sterling. Thomas Paine finally made a last final claim that makes perfect sense for the colonies to break free from England. He mentions how they have one best defenses even though they were so far apart from Europe, they had guns and ammunition that put them at an equal advantage as the rest of the world. So why hesitate when the colonies had everything they need to part ways with Britain? The colonies need to be independent from

England.
To conclude, the colonies needed to be independent as a country of their own with their own form of government. Thomas Paine was able to portray many reasons why the colonist needed to be independent and part ways with Britain. Britain had only caused pain to the colonist and only used them for their own benefit.