Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense'

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at 'Common Sense', a document by Thomas Paine and compares it to the thinking and action of George Washington.
The paper argues that Paine's 'Common Sense' was not practical, whereas Washington's view of government was necessary to create a united nation that could do business with the world, and also keep popular forces under enough control so that true freedom of speech could be enjoyed by all, not simply the democratic majority.

From the Paper:

"Paine wrote his document in 1776, during the first flush of American enthusiasm over war against England, and during one of the most sustained periods of rage against the increasingly prohibitive British system of taxation upon the colonies. Washington, however, saw the American colonialists as potentially overmatched, especially as the war drew on in the years afterwards. Of his minutemen, in comparison to the more systematically trained British soldiers, Washington wrote: "Place them behind a parapet, a breastwork, stone wall, or anything that will afford them shelter, and, from their knowledge of a firelock, they will give a good account of the enemy, but I am as well convinced...they will not stand up at a plain." (Morgan, 1982, p.42) This is why Washington deployed guerrilla tactics when fighting the better-trained English army, who also outnumbered the colonists."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Morgan, Edmund. The Genius of George Washington. The Third George Rodger Clark Lecture. W.W. Norton & Co, 1982.
• Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. 1776. U.S. History.org. [25 Apr 2006] < http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/>

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