"Common Sense"

I am just going to start off this reflection/blog by saying that I did not really appreciate Thomas Paine's writing. He wrote "Common Sense" in almost a smug sort of way. He thought that he was always right, and everyone else was always wrong. One point that he brought up multiple times was that we should not have a monarchy. He said it was a sin for the Jews to think about one and it is a sin for America to have one (Paine). Paine also says, "The prejudice of Englishmen, in favor of their own government by king, lords, and commons, arises as much or more from national pride than reason." (Paine). What he means by this quote is that the people of the nation are not thinking rationally about their rulers, they only support them because of their own pride. I think Thomas Paine's strategy was to make the reader feel like he was right and that there was no other answer to consider. He also discusses the issue of colonies being too big for one group of people to represent. He states that there should be more people to represent them. We are learning about something similar to this in AP US History, but it is more about why some colonists were unhappy that the larger states had more representatives and the smaller states had less representatives. People thought that it was unfair that the larger states had more power than the smaller states. Thomas Paine just says that the colonies need more representatives, though. He also talks about when the colony increases in the amount of people, then the amount of interests and problems grow (Paine). I agree with his statement because it is reasonable. This statement can also refer back to how Paine wanted more representatives. As the amount of people living in the colonies grows, as does the need for more representative figures. The amount of problems increase as the colony grows because the issue of housing, food, and jobs will arise. Thomas Paine also talks about the fighting with England. He says that he knows that it is difficult for the colonies to get along with Britain because we want to be independent, but many of the colonists and government officials are still somewhat dependent on the British form of government (Paine). This is another way that Paine gets his ideas across to people. He talks about major issues and things that will be relatable to others. He then supports those ideas and subjects with a strong opinion and an example. Thomas Paine also confronts the problem of debt. Paine stated that the country needs to be in debt. He made one intelligent remark, saying that national debt connected the colonists together (Paine). He also said that with debt, there comes a Navy (Paine). I think that there would still be an army and a naval force, even if the country was not in debt. Before America was in debt to France, we had the Contineal Army. Thomas Paine also mentioned what would happen if we made an alliance with Britain. He thought that Britain would provide some protection for America by placing naval forces in its ports. He also brought up the important fact that common sense would tell them that they would trick them into slavery and then they would rule the colonists all over again (Paine). I thought this was a very good point. If America had openly allowed Britan to come back into the country, they would be leaving themselves wide open to become part of the British nation and government once more. Any hopes of being independent would be crushed, not only because of Britain taking control again, but because America would become dependent on Britain to protect them. Overall I think Paine made some very valid points. I think his writing strategy was good, although it did annoy me. I still do not like his "I'm always right" attitude, but I think in a way that helped him to persuade his readers. He also makes some historic references throughout the document. Overall I just thought he made many relatable points, and that was mainly how he supported his writing.

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Archiving Early America. Online. 18 Oct. 2010.