Our collection of articles, records and reviews about Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.
![Marker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the inscription, ‘At his print shop here, Robert Bell published the first edition of Thomas Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet [Common Sense] in January 1776. Arguing for a republican form of government under a written constitution, it played a key role in rallying American support for independence.’ Erected in 1993 by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission – Photo by J. J. Prats](https://thomaspaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/thomas-paine-common-sense-788x1024.jpg)
How do we recall a voice whose power lies precisely in its circulation, its instability, its capacity to pass from body to body, rather than in its fixation as an object or an authorial figure?
Ink, Imagination and Algorithm: Returning to Common Sense Read Post »
Common Sense moved many towards declaring independence from Britain. But the Pennsylvania Assembly was controlled by those advocating continued dependence on Britain.
Common Sense, published in January 1776, is well known for its strong advocacy of independence from Britain. Less known, but of vital importance, is Paine’s insistence that it is essential to create republics in which the people as a whole—not any one person— are sovereign. Ridiculing the unwritten English “Constitution” that all American factions then
How Thomas Paine Made the Case for an Independent and Democratic America Read Post »
Following the language of Common Sense, 96 local and state Declarations ofIndependence were written, repeating the language of Common Sense, leading to the national declaration.
The Context of Common Sense: Analyzing Paine’s Words Read Post »
Thomas Paine’s first principles built the structure of democracy. The mechanisms central to Paine’s political theories are rooted in his ideology of first principles. The basic foundation of these principles is equality, and as a direct result, justice. If equality is practiced, then people share equal justice.
Thomas Paine: Founder of Modern Democracy: Part 2 Read Post »
Thomas Paine was the most prodigious political and social polemicist of the revolutionary era. His thinking is more original and seminal than he has been given credit for by historians. Its scope is immense which is one of many reasons he is much more than a “Political Propagandist” and “Pamphleteer”.
Lukin identified the 32 books most often banned worldwide. Two of those books, Rights of Man and The Age of Reason, were authored by Paine. As true from Common Sense forward, governments purporting to support democracy and free speech will resist the radical impact of Paine’s thoughts.
In Common Sense, Paine introduced the concept of modern democracy. This idea is what the “revolution” in the American Revolution rested upon. Self-rule was a by-product of the concept of government “of the people, for the people, by the people.” Before Common Sense, the meaning of “democracy” was diffuse.
Immigration to America was a major impetus for the American Revolution, both physically and intellectually. Thomas Paine welcomed immigrants who were escaping tyranny. In 1776, he wrote in Common Sense, the manifesto of the American Revolution:
Thomas Paine on Immigrants and America as an “Asylum for Mankind” Read Post »
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense begins with a discussion on government; in fact, the content of it in general is about a new form of government. It is a manifesto for a new era, arising from the political economy that is emerging, hampered by feudalism.
We should never fail to recount the story of the American Revolution. We should never forget that our nation was forged in struggle, a struggle — however inadequate and in need of continual renewal and advancement — that was revolutionary.
When power is concentrated in the hands of the few that, by very definition, is an example of tyranny. To allow oil companies, the trucking industry, or whatever to do whatever they want because we believe that they will do the right thing is to fall into the trap.
