Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet urging Britain's American colonists to seek independence.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, the pamphlet presented independence and republican government in direct, accessible language. Paine attacked hereditary monarchy and argued that the colonies should break completely from Britain rather than pursue reconciliation.
Common Sense quickly became one of the most widely read political works in the Thirteen Colonies. It was sold in print shops, distributed throughout the colonies, and read aloud in taverns and meeting places. Its arguments helped make independence a subject of popular debate before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Paine was initially identified only as “an Englishman,” and the work is sometimes confused with the Declaration of Independence itself. The Declaration was a formal statement adopted by Congress; Common Sense was a persuasive pamphlet written for the public. Paine later wrote The American Crisis during the Revolutionary War.