Thomas Paine’s pamphlet that helped build support for independence before America250’s founding-era events was Common Sense.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, the 47-page pamphlet argued that the American colonies should seek complete independence from Great Britain. Paine used direct language aimed at ordinary readers rather than only politicians or scholars.
Common Sense quickly circulated throughout the Thirteen Colonies. It was sold in print shops, distributed widely, and read aloud in taverns and meeting places. Its arguments helped make independence a more widely discussed and popular political objective before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
The pamphlet is sometimes confused with The Federalist Papers, which were written later to support ratification of the United States Constitution. Paine later wrote Rights of Man, a separate work about the French Revolution. Common Sense was published several months before the Declaration of Independence.