Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet that helped build support for the independence celebrated by America250.
Paine published the pamphlet anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776. Written in direct, accessible language, it argued that the American colonies should separate from Great Britain and establish a republican government. The work attacked hereditary monarchy and questioned the political logic of rule by a distant king.
Common Sense became one of the most influential political publications in colonial America. It circulated widely in print and was read aloud in homes, meeting places, and military settings. Its arguments helped move public discussion from resistance to British policies toward an explicit case for independence.
Paine later wrote the American Crisis pamphlets to encourage the revolutionary cause during the war. Common Sense did not itself declare independence or replace the Declaration, but it helped create a public climate in which Congress’s 1776 decision could gain broader support.