Thomas Paine Reflection

Thomas Paine was a patriot writer who rallied a lot of support for his side both before and during the Revolutionary War with his writings one of the most famous being Common Sense. This pamphlet rallied the patriots to boycott English products and just like Common Sense the author was inspiring war and why the colonists needed to separate from their mother country (Divine). Paine was a big rationalist writer and throughout all of his writings he is accused of being an atheist because his views were based on logic and reasoning instead of religion."The prosecution contended that Paine's book, by subverting the truths of Christianity, undermined the government and the constitution, both of which rested on Christianity" (Bald). The accusation that Paine was anti-religious was decision that did not have full truth. His writing style was logically and analytical which was what the new writing style was and the independence of the people had to be based on facts.

"Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but "to bind us in all cases whatsoever" (Paine 134).

Thomas Paine is talking to his already loyal patriots but is also hoping to gain support from the people who are not sure what side to choose (Divine). Thomas Paine wants the others to join his cause for the fight against freedom and the pamphlet was his way of gaining new supporters and also helped the patriots pass on information such as to boycott the English made products. Thomas Paine and the other patriots in the colonies were tired of the English taxes and wanted to escape their power. The colonists had lived well before the English lost in the Seven Years War which caused them to go broke and thats when they started paying attention to the Americans. Thomas Paine wanted to reach out to the people that were being taxed and taken advantage of by the British. He wanted them to fight for their freedom and in The Crisis he is wanting them to reject the British and come fight for their independence so they can make their own rules (Divine). "I call not upon a few, but on every State: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake" (Paine 136).

This call for everyone to revolt against the British was a big moment in history the colonies were going from their small independent communities and united as one giant super power to fight their common enemy (Divine). Thomas Paine was a revolutionary writer who helped the colonist gain the need support and man power to defeat the British soldiers and gain independence (Divine). His writing rationalism writing gave people reason on why they should fight and information about why these things were happening. There was logic in The Crisis which could have influenced many to join the patriots or even maybe side with the loyalist.

Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis, No. 1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009.134-136 . Print.

Bald, Margaret. "Censorship History of The Age of Reason."Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Divine, Robert A., T. H. Breen, George M. Fredrickson, R. Hal Williams, H. W. Brands, and Ariela J. Gross. America Past and Present AP Edition. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.