Who Is Thomas Paine Truly Effective?

Many colonists in America did not believe that they possessed the strength to successfully revolt against English rule. The combined fear of Britain’s military might, along with the possible economic and internal political repercussions from such an act, kept many from supporting a revolution. Thomas Paine, an immigrated English political activist and revolutionary, wrote the influential pamphlet Common Sense in an attempt to stop the colonists from underestimating their ability to thrive outside of British rule. In addition, Paine attempted to sway those that opposed the revolution. He argued several key points that were causing the lack of support, attacking them with reason and fervor, and he tried to form as united a front as possible with

his writing.
There was wide belief that by breaking ties with Britain there would be an economic collapse within the colonies. The colonies trade was focused on Britain, but Thomas Paine argued that that by itself was a huge problem for the economy. The trade they shared with Britain did not give them stability, and instead caused ruin. Britain was too closely imbedded in Europe, and as a result could not maintain long standing peace with its neighbors. He claimed that whenever war broke out for England, America’s economy would suffer as a result. (87) Relying too heavily on British trade would cause a cycle of economic instability and crashes, and America would never be able to stop it unless they broke away. He also believed that by breaking away from England’s control they could begin securing their own ties with other countries. The colonies would be their own country, and could have better economic stability as a whole.
Another major fear was that Britain would be perfectly able to quash any attempt at a revolution. The long standing belief was that Britain possessed a vast number of warships and fighting men, all of whom were better trained and equipped than any colonial fighters. On top of that, in terms of sheer numbers the British army supposedly outnumbered them greatly. Thomas Paine attempted to assuage any of these fears with many facts about the forces that Britain could possibly mobilize against them. First, he debated that the forces of Britain would be spread too thin amongst their other holdings around the world to be able to focus their entire navy solely on them. Second, he revealed that the vast majority of the ships that Britain claimed to have available for use were in fact unavailable. Many weren’t fit for any type of military service, and in fact that some of the ships that were listed in the navy were named despite being entirely nonoperational. If they were to break with England and build their own war ships, then they would be more than a match for any navy that Britain could send to combat. Finally, Thomas Paine also addressed the issue of the superior number of troops that the British supposedly possessed. He refuted this by claiming that the colonies did in fact possess the number of troops that they needed. As long as they all join together as a united force between all of the colonies then they will be able to stand up against the army of the British.
Lastly, Thomas Paine attacks the system of government that Britain employs, and suggests a representative one in its place.

He states that the concept of hereditary rule and monarchy is wrong, and he references biblical passages to prove his point. Additionally, he argues that the entire system in Britain is far too elaborate to be truly effective. The complex government grants far too much power to the monarch, power that he doesn’t deserve, and the checks and balances in place do nothing to stop the abuse of that power. The representative government he proposes would consist of a democracy with equal political weight distributed between the colonies. This would prevent a breakdown of the people, halting anarchy and chaos, while also contradicting the government they are trying to escape. When faced with the fear that other nations would attack the colonies, perceiving them as an easy target due to the instability and war, he also argued against such a thing. He claimed that other nations would support them in their fight against the British. Many of England’s long standing enemies like France or Spain would offer aide in order to weaken the English. However, they would only do this if America fully broke from Britain. If they were to announce to the other nations that they were a full country of their own, and were to inform them of their wish for trade then they would prosper. As a final note, Thomas Paine states that as subjects of Britain they have no voice with which to speak to other nations, but apart from them they may reach out and gain strength.

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Thomas Paine wrote what are quite possibly the most influential documents of the American Revolution. He united the colonies with his powerful words, and without them the revolution might very well have failed due to lack of support. Through the use of common sense he shed light on the questions that all of the colonists needed to ask themselves. Why should they allow the England to rule them any longer? How could they hope to succeed abroad while under the control of Britain? Why should they stand for the abuse they suffer regularly from the monarchy of England? He answered all of these questions with straight forward answers, and because of him America rallied. Thomas Paine stirred up the colonists in a way that very few could hope to do, and as a result America is free.