Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the influential 1776 pamphlet urging the American colonies toward independence.
Published anonymously in Philadelphia on January 10, 1776, the 47-page pamphlet argued that monarchy was corrupt and that the colonies should separate completely from Great Britain. Paine used direct, accessible language rather than the formal style common in political essays, helping the argument reach ordinary readers.
Common Sense was often read aloud in taverns and meeting places. Its success helped make independence a widely discussed public goal before the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The pamphlet was not itself a government document, and Paine did not sign the first edition with his name; it appeared under the description “by an Englishman.”
A common mix-up is confusing Common Sense with Paine’s later pamphlet The American Crisis, which began with the famous phrase about trying men’s souls and was published during the war. Common Sense came first and focused primarily on the case for independence.