Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense helped popularize American independence before the Declaration was adopted in 1776.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia in January 1776, the pamphlet argued that the American colonies should break from Great Britain and establish a representative government. Paine wrote in direct, accessible language, allowing the argument to reach readers beyond political elites.
Common Sense became one of the most influential pamphlets of the revolutionary period. Its arguments helped move public discussion from protest against British policies toward the question of complete independence.
Paine later wrote The American Crisis, a separate series of writings that began with “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Common Sense should not be confused with Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack or the essays later called The Federalist.