Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine and Common Sense
In the textbook’s introduction to Thomas Paine, it says that he was supported by Benjamin Franklin, who called him an “ingenious, worthy young man”. I have to say that his pamphlet, Common Sense, was very interesting for me to read. I felt that he proved himself to be very wise, and intelligent about the injustices the colonists faced and a master of persuasive rhetoric.
In outlining this work, I found that all of the textbook English mechanisms of persuasion were present, exemplary for an English 190 class. The following are the points of persuasion that I noticed in Common Sense.
To begin, the title Common Sense instead of something more longwinded and boring like “why colonists of America should fight for independence from British Tyranny” gets right to the point of his persuasion; that a person with common sense will fight to extricate the American inhabitants from abusive British rule. Most of what he says in his essay is common sense exactly. The problem is that he has to consider that common sense is being defeated by the loyalty to custom, as Paine points out. One of the ways in which I would define American culture, unlike English culture is, for better or worse that Americans lack the pride in tradition that the English possess. Americans don’t tend to do things because “that’s the way they have always been done”. I can’t decide, as I read Common Sense whether the American disinterest in maintaining tradition is something that stems from Federalist liberalism or if it was there to begin with. Paine certainly has the spirit of a Maverick (teehee), but did all of the settlers?
Anyway, the introduction of the essay begins by appealing to the dubious reader, addressing those most likely to disregard the pamphlet. Paine explains this issue of custom/tradition in the first page, explaining that the “defense of custom” is a result of habitual belief that something because something doesn’t appear to be wrong that it is right.
Paine addresses the importance of the cause at hand, pumping up the reader, (creating a patriotic lust even?) by reminding that this is a huge amount of the globe at stake and that the geography is the only concern of the King of England, not the wellbeing of his English brothers and sisters in America. He contemplates options, separation and dependence on England.
Some of the persuasive approaches of Common Sense are the following:
*Paine is very creative in his reasoning, coming up with great analogies for America: -as a child, who has thrived without meat
-as a child of England, and therefore an threatened enemy of France and Spain
*Paine uses Financial Appeals: citing the economic state of America after English wars, mentioning taxes.
*Religious appeals: Attributing the distance between the continents as protective gift from God, as well as the fact that God allowed the discovery of America at nearly the same time as the religious persecution of the Protestants during the reformation.
*Paine appeals to the pride of the individual, expressing how England is taking advantage of Americans in everyway, and that all that is left for Americans is unpopularity by association.
All in all, Paine’s very convincing work really befits its title.