Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet that argued for independence before the America250 founding milestone.
Paine published the pamphlet anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776. Written in direct language for a broad colonial audience, it attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that the American colonies should separate from Great Britain. The work helped make independence a subject of popular discussion beyond elite political circles.
Common Sense was circulated widely, sold through colonial booksellers, and read aloud in taverns and meeting places. Its influence is often described as helping build support for independence, although historians differ over how directly it affected Congress’s decision to issue the Declaration.
A frequent mix-up is the title Plain Truth. That was a Loyalist response by James Chalmers, not Paine’s pamphlet. Paine followed Common Sense with The American Crisis, another important revolutionary series, but the two works had different purposes and publication histories.