Common Sense

Title: Common Sense

Author: Thomas Paine Published: 1776 Summary: Published as a 48-page pamphlet, Common Sense became "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era." It presented the American colonists with an argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. Part of its success was due to the fact that Paine wrote and reasoned in a style that common people could understand.