Common Sense: 250 Years Later
Digital version of my pamphlet on Itch ! Investigating the historical context and legacy of Thomas Paine's Common Sense , written to proselytize radical liberalism right before the American Revolution. 1. The Colonies In 1764, the English Parliament began imposing taxes on American colonies to recuperate the costs of the French-Indian War. Although the constitution of England gave all citizens the right to representation, the colonists did not have a voice in Parliament. “No taxation without representation!” American colonists started boycotting English goods and protesting against the rule of Parliament. The more they voiced their opposition, the more Parliament punished them, causing protests to escalate into riots. In 1774, Parliament began to violently repress the colonists: restricting trade, housing soldiers in private homes, and imprisoning people without trial. 2. Common Sense Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in 1775 at the cusp of revolution, when the original ...