Thomas Paine's influential 1776 pamphlet arguing for American independence was Common Sense.
Paine published the pamphlet anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, while the Thirteen Colonies were still fighting Britain. Written in direct, accessible prose, it attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that the colonies should establish an independent republican government rather than reconcile with King George III and Parliament.
The work was initially printed by Robert Bell and quickly spread through the colonies. It was sold in large numbers, read aloud in taverns and meeting places, and helped make independence a subject of popular political debate. Its arguments appeared just months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Common Sense is sometimes confused with Paine's later pamphlet series The American Crisis, which began in December 1776 and supported the revolutionary cause during wartime. It is also distinct from Rights of Man, Paine's defense of the French Revolution, published in 1791 and 1792. The pamphlet's influence is important, but exact sales estimates remain disputed by historians.