Common Sense

by Thomas Paine

"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine is a pamphlet published in January 1776 advocating independence from Great Britain for the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear, persuasive prose, Paine presents moral and political arguments to encourage common people to fight for egalitarian government. Published anonymously at the American Revolution's beginning, it became an immediate sensation—the best-selling American title of all time. Paine connected independence with Protestant beliefs and structured his work like a sermon, making the first serious case for full independence when reconciliation still dominated colonial thinking.