What was Paine’s role in the American Revolution?
Paine was the only leading Founder who served in both the military and the government during the Revolution. But more than that, it was Paine’s Common Sense that transformed a tax rebellion into a social and political revolution. Paine provided the ideology of the American Revolution: an end to monarchy, establish a system of representative democracy, and the establishment of an independent and free America. As the Revolution faltered, in December 1776, Paine wrote the American Crisis and turned the tide and filled the ranks of the Continental Army, where he was serving as an officer, and was the voice of the Americans throughout the Revolution in the other Crisis papers. He later became the secretary to committee on foreign affairs, and personally brought the crucial support of France into the fight.