During the American Revolution, the 1776 pamphlet Common Sense argued that the Thirteen Colonies should become independent from Britain.
Thomas Paine wrote the 47-page pamphlet in late 1775 and early 1776. It was first published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, with printer Robert Bell producing the initial edition. Paine used direct, accessible language to criticize monarchy and make the case for a complete break with Britain.
Common Sense circulated widely through the colonies and was often read aloud in taverns and meeting places. Its arguments helped make independence more understandable and persuasive to ordinary colonists before the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776. The pamphlet’s success also helped establish Paine as one of the Revolution’s most influential writers.
It is sometimes confused with The American Crisis, another Paine work. The American Crisis was a later series of wartime pamphlets, beginning in December 1776, while Common Sense was the earlier independence argument.