Common Sense: Better Government and the Road to American Independence
Thomas Paine writer and promoter of American Revolution was one of the many people that is an important figure when we talk about the independence of America. He was the author of Common Sense. This pamphlet was created with Paine’s thorough believe in government weaknesses and strengths and how it could lead to cut ties with England and gain independence in America.
Thomas Paine believed that government would be anywhere because it was an “necessary evil”, meaning that without government society would be wrapped in chaos. If society was small it would be able to function without having government involved. Government will only increase when society does. Because of this Paine believes that the only reason that government should be established is to protect liberty and property of the one-self. Paine came across the idea that the simpler things were, the easier it was to fix chaos among society. The simpler the government the simpler it was to come up with a solution. Paine was a strong believer that England should be independent from all monarchy. England in the 1700s was involved with a monarch government meaning that all power belonged to one individual and their families. Paine argued that having a king as the only ruler of the country should be ran as involving the people in the constitution making and not letting the constitution be all about the will of the king.
Paine also seeks to value equality. Society did not see everyone equal in the past centuries. People were labeled as rich, poor, weak, strong etc. Paine believed that this how equality was broken. The rich were considered stronger which meant the poor are weak and would be oppressed. Paine mentions how monarch brought vicious years into England and instead of making it about society it was made personal. Then Paine saw that it was not only about who was rich and who was poor in England it was the division of monarchy and the people’s beliefs. Religion in England believed that the only ruler that people should follow is God and not a king. Following monarchy was considered a sin which is why it created a breaking among the people of England. This is where Paine believed in settling government power in England which brings us back to the belief of government being only established to control impetuous chaos. Paine expresses how people would not see the wrong in England earlier because it was a parent country. People like the idea of tradition are afraid to break it because it is wrong. Monarchy was seen as a tradition it was generation after generation that government existed in a different way and was not seen as wrong. Like we discussed in class because it was generation after generation it became problematic. The War of the Spanish Succession is a clear example of what it was to deal with monarch disputes. The war started when the disagreement of Louis XIV taking the thrown of Spain and the English King William of Orange did not agree. Instead of letting the people chose who their new leader they went with their own traditions.
Even though Paine saw England as the enemy he believed that it was important to have a parent country on a peace state. Because if Britain would go to ruin so would America because of the ties they had said Paine. The ties that the colonies had with Britain were dangerous. Britain over the years had gained enemies that could destroy them and the colonies. If the colonies would have been independent all along with no British power and no Britain ties it would be in no danger of harm. England had brought themselves in into many altercations because of the type of government it established. The way things were being run by Britain had to end or change. The American Revolution could have been avoided only if Britain would have considered that the 13 Britain colonies were being treated unequal. Paine believed that cutting ties with Britain would allow opportunities with for America with other countries. America was not seeking to be the most powerful country in the world it was only looking out for their best interest and being attached to a country that had the mentality to overrule everyone else was not their best interest. Instead of building necessary ties with other countries it was tied down to the enemies that England brought themselves upon. Even when England’s monarchy wouldn’t end America would be freed of it. Italy was also a country that believed in no monarch. They did not want a king and with the help of Mazzini who was a central figure they fight for the idea of unification in Italy. A king would not allow the continent he is in to be run by anyone but himself. Establishing a legislation would be by his rules and convenience only. Oppression would never end and equality would not be prioritized. Paine saw this as being enslaved by the laws of the king. In America, they would have laws that would be established to only govern the people and protect them. These laws would see the interest of society and not only the ruler and their convenience. The difference between being enslaved by the laws made that in England the king would not allow any making of laws without his approval.
Paine presents the idea of establishing a government where a President is involved. He believes this idea will bring value to the opinion of the colonies and the oppression of a king can be vanished in this new beginning. He then introduced the idea of voting for a president. This would allow different districts to be formed and cast their votes by a ballot. This allows equality among the decisions that are being made in government. A say in society was what drove these people away from England and a say would let these people construct the ideal state of government for them. America would then construct their constitution highlighting the idea of social involvement in the decision making establishing the voice of the colonies. They would base the laws on the needs that the American people had. These laws would create protection and security. According to Locke this meant that government would focus on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Gaining independence would also let America be revalued by other countries that had conflict with England. This would allow America to forever cut ties with Britain. If America did not learn to cut forever ties with England monarchy would take over again and all the work that America did to gain their independence would vanish. America would not be the only one to rebel many countries were having their own problems and set an example of what it meant to fight for their beliefs. The revolution of 1848 took place in Paris. It was workers fighting their own government and demanding better and fair treatment. They fought and received unemployment benefits, they gave jobs to those who didn’t have one. The importance of fighting your government for right treatment was not only happening for America it was being practiced in other countries.
With all that Paine mentions he then sets the idea of finally breaking free of Britain should start now. The colonies had enough men to fight their battle towards independence. Paine mentioned that the fight was not to end simple tax laws but to obtain full independence. This would allow America to develop into the country that they want to be. With that being said, Paine makes an accurate calculation of what it would be the cost to go against Britain and their army to declare their independence. It all makes sense that America would be able to afford this battle. America was in no debt with any country because they had just been established. Their resources would allow them to reduce their spending. The colonies are at the perfect moment to fight this battle. They have the right amount of people according to Paine if they wait any longer the amount of people in the colonies will be harder to control and not all will like the idea of working for their independence. Gaining independence will allow the colonies to introduce new opportunities for themselves and allow them to become a strong country. We do see the American colonies go up against the Britain in the Battle of Yorktown. Paine knew that people had the drive to fight. According to what we discussed in class these people were intelligent and high educated and wanted a better life which is what it took for them to rebel in October 1781.
I believe Paine wrote Common Sense perfectly. He started explaining the type of government that Britain had and the complications that it brought to the people. He analyzed how the colonies would be affected if they allowed to remain part of a monarchial country. He then provided his opinion of government and even though he believed that we are better off without one it is a “necessary evil.” He then presented the idea of a stable government for the colonies and how it would run. He got rid of the idea of running a monarchial government and focus on the needs the society needed. I believe that his idea of the constitution would assure anyone that his way of thinking would allow people to believe in it. Trust would be established in the constitution because people would have some say in what exactly they wanted. He proposed to fight Britain for their independence. The main goal was to let these people be the improvement for their own society. These colonists were intelligent enough and would be able to fight and be successful. Money would not be an issue and the perfect timing was then. After gaining their independence the colonies would be able to work on their form of government to become strong as a country. Overall Paine argued that monarchy had to end at least for America and presented his plan and all the benefits that would bring to the people of the colonies if they decided to cut their ties with Britain. He also mentioned why he believed it was possible to fight against the parent country. His ideas led to the Battle of Yorktown which proved Paine to be right and be known as a Founding Father.