In 46 Pages author Scott Liell is able to poignantly illustrate the colonies metamorphosis from a dependent arm of the English Empire to an independent country, the catalyst for which was Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Liell is able to not only articulate the turning point of the American consensus towards independence, but he also very intelligibly depicts the sentiments of all facets of colonial dogma and the torrential effect that Common Sense had in loosening the cement that held those beliefs.
Using fantastic examples of the opinions of Tories, Whigs, and those ambivalent towards independence, Liell efficiently and eloquently establishes that, although turning the populous mentality towards independence happened almost overnight, it did not happen easily. Paine, an unsuspecting hero from a modest upbringing, was met with both fervent praise and grave dissension upon publishing what could accurately be referred to as his “master work. Never in the history of mankind has a singular document been so powerful to bring men to act for a cause, a cause they were, just prior to reading
Common Sense, trepidatious and hesitant of. In 46 Pages few stones are left unturned leaving the reader with a comprehensive and complete understanding of one of the most important documents not only in American history, but in human history as well. Liell found a difficult task in accurately reporting Paine’s legacy prior to his rise in American popularity.
This is greatly in part to the lascivious attempts of royal propagandists to smear Paine’s unblemished reputation by muddying the realities of his heritage. (pg. 24) Notwithstanding the difficulty, Liell aptly delivers valuable particulars of Paine’s past and associates them succinctly to the events leading up to and following the authoring of Common Sense. Like many of his American contemporaries, Paine came from humble beginnings. His father, a corset maker from Thetford, and his mother, a woman of high-esteem and an affluent household, made an unusual couple given their societal hereditary differences.
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Harry S. Truman was the most influential figure in early Cold War politics. His policies on Soviet expansion and cooperation with western bloc countries set the stage for how other Cold War era presidents would act. It is through his handling of the Korean conflict and the issue of communism, both domestic and abroad, he can be considered the father of Cold War politics.The beginnings of communist ...
It was this variance in heritage that nurtured both Paine’s familial recognition of the common man’s adversity in a monarch’s dominion and his natural predisposition for the written word and self-edification. Liell draws on this point citing Paine’s short lived days at a grammar school near his homeland. (pg. 27) Such an opportunity was uncommon for the son of a corset maker and although it would have been more anticipated that he would simply follow his father’s vocation, his parents stressed the significance of pursuing knowledge.
Paine further established his kinship and compassion of the common man when he ventured out as a privateer, despite his father’s previous attempts of curtailing such adventures. Not much is known of Paine’s days as a privateer other than it was short lived. It is assumed that he had grown distaste for the lifestyle, perhaps because he simply found it disagreeable or found disdain for the lack of principles for which privateers’ stand. Nonetheless, the experience left Paine with a greater understanding of the soldier class.
Not too long after his days as a privateer, Paine finds himself under the employ of the government, a peculiar position for the man who would inspire a revolution against the same government not but a few years later. Furthermore, Paine was an excise man. Not the position a man of the people would be expected to fill. However, Paine, in many ways, was an opportunist and, even after once being dismissed as an excise man for “stamping the whole ride,” (pg. 4) Paine was able to build such a rapport with the people in the community he served that he became a favored citizen. It was this talent, the talent of garnering the favor of the people that was truly Paine’s gift. Writing, oration, and anything else were secondary components to Paine’s charismatic mastery and aptitude for earning the affection of the societies around him. I believe no matter where Paine’s endeavors had brought him he would always be of the people, so much so that he would actually become one of those people, just as he became an American.
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Paine, born and raised in England, was relieved from his position as an excise man and after various unsuccessful business endeavors, Benjamin Franklin was finally able to persuade him to venture to the America’s. It is peculiar to consider that had he been allowed to retain his position as an excise man, Common Sense may have never been penned and the revolution may have never come to fruition. Benjamin Franklin saw in Paine what so many others did, a commonality to the people with whom he was surrounded.
It didn’t take long for Paine to ingratiate himself into the lives of the colonials. Not long after his arrival, even while recuperating from an arduous transatlantic journey that left him in the shackles of bed rest, Paine was already reaching out to the people through his writings. Liell greatly accentuates the importance of Paine’s connection to the people who were in reverence and the dissension of those in disaccord to his ideals. I think this aspect is most greatly reflected in the chapter
“The Devil is in the People. Paine’s writings were offered in such a way that made them easily digestible and comprehensible to the uneducated underclass, but he still provided poise and provocation that would entice citizens of greater status and intellect to read his pamphlet as well. Paine signed his work as “the Englishman”, a decision I think further solidified his position as an unbiased observer who truly was invested in providing the most honest and sensible testimony to the conflict between the oppressive English monarch and the bourgeoning metropolises of America.
Eventually, Paine’s ideologies became the basis of popular American beliefs. Prior to Common Sense there was not an utterance of independence or an American Republic. Paine was so effective in persuading the ideals of the people that the silent unspoken fear of independence was replaced with the clamor of revolutionary hordes charging congress of moving too slowly to declare it. And as one loyalist put it “The Devil is in the People. ” (Nicholas Cresswell pg. 13)
The Essay on Thomas Paine “The American Crisis” Analysis
... sense of pride in people who know that they are trying to work for a common cause at a very high price. Paine ... writing was a major force behind the American Revolution. Paine had such a way with words that ... cruel, never can be brave.” Thomas Paine was a man who knew how to take words and ... him “a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man.” Paine not only ridiculed the throne, but defiled it ...
In reading 46 Pages I found myself enthralled to find that such a fundamental piece of American literature was crafted not by a true blue Revolutionary, but by an unassuming English tax man. It doesn’t exactly resonate with the concept of “Taxation without Representation” but, as Liell pointed out, that was never a fair slogan, or proper causi bellum (pg. 117), to represent the cause of liberation from the British. What Paine spoke of, and what Liell developed on, was much more paramount than simple grudges over imbalanced levies and tariffs.
Paine spoke of King George as an evil tyrant and of independence as not just an American right, but as an egalitarian necessity for a new world era to begin for all mankind; an era in which no man is less than another, an era where all men’s voices can be heard, and an era where no one’s liberty or right to property can be taken from them. A new American country would become the template of liberty for other countries to follow. I also enjoyed Liell’s final chapter where he divulges the perspective of the founding fathers on Paine and Common Sense.
Benjamin Franklin seemingly surprised by the rise to fame of his fellow Whig, John Adam’s scorned by a lack of attention claiming Paine garnered an unfair amount of recognition, and George Washington reading Common Sense out loud to inspire and invigorate his otherwise disheartened troops are all illustrations of the monumental prominence of Paine’s contributions. Ultimately, despite all their efforts, none of our founding fathers had the propensity to galvanize the people for a cause as Thomas Paine did, and he did it with just a little common sense.
