Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet Common Sense urged the American colonies to seek independence, making it a key text of the America250 story.
Paine published the pamphlet anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776. Written in direct, accessible prose, it attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that the colonies should create an independent republic rather than reconcile with Great Britain.
Common Sense circulated rapidly in printed editions and was frequently read aloud in taverns, meeting places, and military camps. Its arguments helped make independence more understandable and persuasive to a broad colonial audience before Congress formally declared independence.
The pamphlet is sometimes confused with The Crisis, another influential work by Paine. The Crisis began appearing later in 1776, during the Revolutionary War, and opened with the famous line about “the times that try men’s souls.” Common Sense was the earlier independence pamphlet that helped shape public debate.