Which writer published the 1776 independence pamphlet Common Sense?

Thomas Paine published the 1776 independence pamphlet Common Sense.

Common Sense appeared anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, under the full title Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America. Paine argued in direct, accessible prose that the American colonies should abandon monarchy and seek complete independence from Great Britain. The pamphlet helped make independence a subject of popular political discussion.

Paine had arrived in the colonies from England in late 1774 and worked with Philadelphia printers. Benjamin Rush, a physician and supporter of independence, helped connect him with printer Robert Bell. The first edition was only 47 pages, but it circulated widely and was often read aloud in taverns and meeting places.

A frequent confusion is that Common Sense was not a congressional declaration or a law. It was a persuasive pamphlet that influenced public opinion before Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Paine later wrote The American Crisis during the Revolutionary War.