Pamphlet1776

Plain words for independence

Common Sense, Thomas Paine (1737–1809); printed by Robert Bell

Title page reading Common Sense; addressed to the Inhabitants of America, followed by a list of four subjects, a verse by Thomson and the imprint Philadelphia; printed and sold by R. Bell, in Third-Street, MDCCLXXVI. — Image: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division. No known restrictions on publication.

Thomas Paine arrived in Philadelphia in November 1774, invited by Benjamin Franklin. In England he had worked as a corset-maker, a privateer and a tax officer. In Philadelphia he began writing for a magazine.

On 10 January 1776 Common Sense was first printed and distributed. Because what it said was treason, it was published without the author's name, and the printer, Robert Bell, took on the risk. Its title page lists the four subjects: the origin of government, monarchy and hereditary succession, the present state of American affairs, and the present ability of America.

The Library of Congress calls it an instant best seller, with several thousand copies sold within days, and printers soon issued editions up and down the colonies and in Dublin and London. The famous totals of 100,000 copies or more go back largely to Paine's own claims and are hard to verify; some historians argue the real numbers were much lower.

Its effect is less in doubt. In the words of the Library of Congress, it helped turn the tide of feeling toward revolution and "paved the way for the Declaration of Independence more than any other single publication".