What was the title of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet series begun during the American Revolution in December 1776?

The American Crisis was the title of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet series begun during the American Revolution in December 1776.

Paine published the first pamphlet in The Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776, when the Continental Army had suffered defeats and morale was dangerously low. The essay encouraged soldiers and civilians to continue supporting the revolutionary cause during a particularly difficult winter.

The series opened with the famous phrase “These are the times that try men’s souls.” George Washington reportedly ordered the first pamphlet read aloud to his troops before the Battle of Trenton, helping turn Paine’s writing into a tool of wartime morale.

The title is sometimes confused with Common Sense, Paine’s earlier and equally influential 1776 pamphlet. Common Sense argued for independence from Britain, while The American Crisis addressed the struggle after independence had been declared. Thirteen numbered Crisis pamphlets appeared between 1776 and 1777, followed by additional installments through 1783.