The document Thomas Paine published in 1776 to argue for American independence was Common Sense.
Paine’s pamphlet appeared in January 1776, several months before Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. It rejected monarchy and hereditary succession and presented independence as a practical and morally justified choice for the colonies. Its plain style helped the work reach readers beyond elite political circles.
The pamphlet became one of the most widely circulated publications in British North America. Paine later continued supporting the Revolution in The American Crisis, whose opening line became famous among supporters of Washington’s army. Common Sense is distinct from the Federalist Papers, written in 1787 and 1788 to defend the proposed Constitution, and from Paine’s later Rights of Man.