Project Gutenberg 2003-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 418 Paine, Thomas 1737 1809 Pain, Thomas Common Sense Produced by Norman M. Wolcott. HTML version by Al Haines. "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine is a political pamphlet written during the late 18th century, specifically in the context of the American Revolution. This influential work argues for the independence of the American colonies from British rule, presenting compelling reasoning against monarchy and hereditary succession, while advocating for a government based on democratic principles and the rights of individuals. It is deeply rooted in Enlightenment ideas, emphasizing natural rights and the importance of popular sovereignty. At the start of the pamphlet, Paine sets the stage by addressing the flawed distinction often made between society and government, positioning government as a necessary evil resulting from human shortcomings. He critiques the English constitution, highlighting its complexities and inherent flaws, particularly regarding its monarchy. He poses provocative inquiries into the nature of kingship and the arbitrary power it holds, ultimately providing a rationale for the colonies to seek independence. Paine's urgent tone and powerful arguments aim to awaken the American populace to the necessity of self-governance and to persuade them towards a collective movement for liberty, making a case that the fight for independence is not just a local issue but a global concern for the rights of all mankind. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Political science United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783 Monarchy E201 Text Browsing: History - American Browsing: Politics 144342 142960 2024-10-02T09:51:26.314335 2023-10-02T08:45:05.132725 text/html text/html 138507 2021-01-08T23:41:02 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 53188 2021-01-08T23:41:02 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 123444 2024-10-02T09:51:30.913270 application/epub+zip 124481 2024-10-02T09:51:28.093340 application/epub+zip 124481 2024-10-02T09:51:26.942286 application/epub+zip 212651 2024-10-02T09:51:33.035253 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 204072 2024-10-02T09:51:30.245269 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 171625 2022-09-02T11:37:28.185432 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 134489 134448 2024-10-02T09:51:25.971322 2023-10-02T08:45:04.910702 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 134447 2021-01-08T23:41:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 52014 2021-01-08T23:41:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19861 2024-10-02T09:51:33.155252 application/rdf+xml 10832 2024-10-02T09:51:27.484307 image/jpeg 3088 2024-10-02T09:51:27.210280 image/jpeg 122000 2024-10-02T09:51:26.328291 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia