Common Sense

It was only a pamphlet, yet one of the most influential in human history, significantly influencing American independence. The pamphlet, in which Paine castigates the then British King George as a "pharaoh" and a "royal beast," caused a change of opinion in many quarters and won over parts of the American population to the idea of independence. "Common Sense" decisively influenced the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. Paine was also the first to propose calling the new nation the "United States of America." "Common Sense" became the most popular pamphlet in the American colonies. This tremendous success was also due to the fact that Paine - unlike most other writers of his time - used vernacular language. Among the aristocrats, however, it met with criticism because of its demand for a unified parliament without a privileged House of Lords. Gröls Classics - English Edition