Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet urging Britain’s American colonists to seek independence was Common Sense.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, Common Sense presented independence and republican government in direct, accessible language. Paine attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that the colonies should break permanently from Britain rather than seek limited reforms.
The pamphlet circulated widely through printed copies, newspapers, taverns, and public readings. Its arguments helped make independence more understandable and politically acceptable to ordinary colonists before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Common Sense is sometimes confused with The American Crisis, another Paine publication. The American Crisis was a series of wartime pamphlets that began later in 1776 and encouraged Americans during the Revolution. Plain Truth was also a 1776 pamphlet, but it was written by loyalist James Chalmers as a response criticizing Paine’s argument.