Thomas Paine’s call for freedom
Introduction
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet came at the right time when the American people needed freedom from colonists. It presents both political and moral arguments advocating for cutting ties and acquiring freedom from Great Britain. Paine presents the writing in three sections; section three and the appendix play a critical role in outlining American problems that required solution only by freedom through independence rather than collaboration. This paper supports the argument that Thomas Paine’s call for freedom through independence was an excellent solution to America’s misfortunes from Britain’s colonialism.
The primary themes in Paine’s Common Sense section three and appendix is the persuasion of the Americans to settle for independence freedom. Paine outlines to the people the various problems that came with the monarchy system of governance. In section three, Thomas explores the crisis facing the nation during the time. He carefully selects his language and style of presenting the ideas to convince the readers that it was foolish to continue their loyalty towards distant colonists. He explains to the people that pursuing reconciliation with the colonists was self-sabotage and ruin upon the Americans. Thomas Paine presents his arguments convincingly for the Americans to understand that they were already at war, and their only way to gain freedom was through independence and not reconciliation.
Thomas Paine also gives the colonies an appropriate way to attain peace, independence, and absolute freedom from Great Britain. He suggests that the people divide the colonies into districts. The districts would elect congress representatives, while the congress elects a president via ballots from state delegates. To ensure justice, Thomas suggested that a win should entail three-fifths majority votes. This voting system, leadership, and representation would ensure that colonies were independent of one another, which would translate to America’s freedom.
Thomas Paine also advocates for absolute freedom through democracy. His arguments urge the American people to separate from Britain and become a democratic nation. In Thomas’ view, democracy was a sure way to attain freedom. He convinces the people, through common sense style, to pursue democracy and he discredits several Americans who argued about the advantages of staying connected to the Great Britain. Paine fuels the desire for democratic freedom by telling American that those who supported the relationship with Britain were only cowards giving excuses to evade sacrificing their lives for the utmost prize, America’s freedom. Therefore, discrediting the coward Americans supporting Great Britain’s rule was a strategic move to unify Americans’ thoughts towards fighting for democracy, and consequently, absolute American freedom.
Thomas Pain continues to advocate for independence and American freedom in the appendix of Common Sense. He writes the section in two parts ideologically. In the first part, Paine argues that the colonies should proclaim total independence, translating to absolute freedom from tyrant colonies. He explains that they should consider independence and freedom compared to reconciliation since independence was a simpler agreement. Pain also argues that the independence treaty and sovereignty was the only sure way to maintain peaceful bonds among colonies.
The second part of the appendix appeals to religious parties to uphold their principles and acquire their freedom from politics. Thomas responds to several arguments from the Quaker leaders about the American Revolution. He confirms his faith in God and toleration in religious matters. Thomas critiques the writers of the Quakers for falsifying their representation for the Quaker population and interfering with political matters. He adopts a bold style to present the ideas and help the Quaker leaders to understand their foolish position with political matters. Towards the conclusion, Thomas appeals to all patriotic Americans to participate in mocking and scorning the naïve Americans who did not believe in God’s support for America’s independence war. The effort to return Quaker leaders to focus on religious matters is a strategic move to ensure religious freedom does not affect or hinder political freedom acquisition.
Thomas Paine utilizes a common-sense writing style to motivate Americans to focus on acquiring freedom through independence and not reconciliation. He presents several questions to raise the readers’ awareness towards their urgent need for independence freedom. In a common sense prose style, Thomas inquires why a vast American continent was letting a tiny England rule them. He continues to inquire how Americans would get any external support while still confessing their loyalty to British rule. He also questioned the readers how longer they were willing to support the Crown abuse from tyrants. These questions fuelled the Americans’ desire to acquire independence and absolute freedom from Great Britain.
The setting, style, and plot of Paine’s Common Sense help shape and develop the theme of persuading Americans to seek independence freedom compared to reconciliation. The setting of both section three and the appendix was meant to help readers see the urgent need to break away from Britain and its leadership problems. The plot involving section three and the appendix was also critical; it did not only tell Americans to break free from the British Empire, but it also gave them convincing reasons why the breakup was appropriate to acquire freedom. Thomas appeals to people’s common sense to fight for their freedom by presenting pure facts and simple arguments.
Conclusion
Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet marked the beginning of America’s fight for independence and freedom from Great Britain. The primary them was the quest for freedom and the fight for inevitable independence, given the problems they faced with the monarchical leadership. Thomas focuses on the American people’s state under British colonialism, and he gives the people several arguments that motivated the fight for freedom. He tells the readers that the best solution towards the acquisition of absolute freedom for colonies is a declaration of independence, which was simpler compared to reconciliation. Thomas concludes his persuasion by focusing on Quaker leaders and convincing them to concentrate on religious matters without mixing with political issues. Paine utilizes the common sense style of writing to convince Americans that Independence was the only way to ensure freedom and togetherness among the colonies. Therefore, Thomas Pain’s Common Sense work plays a critical role in persuading Americans to acquire freedom by attaining their independence from the British Empire.