Why Common Sense? When Thomas Paine, a Quaker from England, arrived at Philadelphia in 1774, he brought with him the spirit of English radicalism which would later help to shape the future of an emerging nation. As colonists struggled both physically to defend their rights and their land from England, they were also engaged in a moral battle. Whereas some colonists favored reconciliation with their “mother” country, there was a growing number who favored a break …showed first 75 words of 871 total…

…showed last 75 words of 871 total…impact on the establishment of the Declaration of Independence soon after, but even today his claims and the reasoning behind them remain relevant. His own anguish and suffering, in addition to his true passion for the ideals of the liberal bourgeois come together into a fervent and convincing argument for independence from England. Overall though, despite his well-reasoned contentions, the success of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense can be most clearly explained by its title.