Lecture 10: Common Sense (HIST 116)
This session explores Thomas Paine's influential pamphlet 'Common Sense,' discussing its historical context, radical arguments against monarchy, and its role in popularizing the concept of American independence and republican government.
The American Revolution (HIST 116)
This lecture focuses on the best-selling pamphlet of the American Revolution: Thomas Paine's Common Sense, discussing Paine's life and the events that led him to write his pamphlet. Published in January of 1776, it condemned monarchy as a bad form of government, and urged the colonies to declare independence and establish their own form of republican government. Its incendiary language and simple format made it popular throughout the colonies, helping to radicalize many Americans and pushing them to seriously consider the idea of declaring independence from Britain.
Lecture 9: Who Were the Loyalists? (HIST 116)
Next · Lecture 11Lecture 11: Independence (HIST 116)