Common Sense was Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet arguing that the American colonies should become independent.
Paine published Common Sense anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776. Written in direct, accessible language rather than the formal style common in political essays, it attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that a distant island should not rule a continent.
The pamphlet quickly circulated among colonists and became one of the most influential printed works of the revolutionary period. It helped move public debate beyond opposition to particular British policies and toward the idea of complete independence.
Common Sense did not itself declare independence or create a government. The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence later, in July 1776. Paine subsequently wrote The American Crisis, a separate series of essays intended to encourage the revolutionary cause during wartime. Confusing those titles is a common mistake when identifying Paine’s independence pamphlet.