Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet urging American independence during the founding era.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, the 47-page pamphlet presented independence in direct, accessible language. Paine challenged monarchy and hereditary rule while arguing that the American colonies should establish a representative republic.
Common Sense became an immediate publishing sensation. It was read aloud in homes, taverns, and meeting places, helping make independence a subject of popular debate before the Declaration of Independence was adopted. Its arguments complemented, rather than replaced, the political work of the Continental Congress.
Paine later served the revolutionary cause in several ways, including writing The American Crisis during the Revolutionary War. A common mix-up is confusing Common Sense with the Declaration of Independence: Paine wrote the pamphlet, while Thomas Jefferson was the principal drafter of the Declaration.