"Common Sense" was written by the famous Thomas Paine. The pamphlet was published January 10, 1776. The pamphlet was written to challenge the authority of the British government and promote Independence for America. "Common Sense" was based on believing that people should have the right to choose their own government, as well as being able to revolt against it. Paine felt that the government did not represent the people properly, nor did it promote their overall happiness. http://www.bookrags.com/research/common-sense-thomas-paine-1776-ltsw/The pamphlet was strongly based on the time period called the Age of Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was a period when people became more aware of things such as sciences and intellectual interchange. They also became opposed to superstition. This time period also influenced Thomas Paine by encouraging him to inform people that the traditional way that the government ran things was not right and that they should do something about it. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/1700-1800-Age-of-Enlightenment.html People like Isaac Newton, John Locke, and Pierre Bayle enlightened Thomas Paine to think and write in the sense that he did with the "Common Sense".
Another reason why the Age of Enlightenment is so crucial with Thomas Paine is because, it helped with the solidify the growth of the democratic party. http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/growth_of_democratic/ Also during this time period, people started to examine the way that rulers governed and felt that they should examine their own government to see if it was being ran the proper way. For example, at the time there was only one main ruler who contained all the power and held control over everything. Paine thought the opposite and pushed for power to be separated and balance so that their own government wouldn't become corrupt.
The Age of Enlightenment did not only lead to Thomas Paine's "Common Sense", but it also encouraged different people in different countries to start speaking up for their rights. In my eyes, without this time period we wouldn't have had leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. , Rosa Parks, and many other leaders who helped revolutionize the way we think and act now and for the future.
Great beginnings but does away with a strong (enlightenment) need to keep ties to Rational Dissent, Dr. Richard Price, Mary Wolstonecroft; etc. That shuddering exchanging of ideas and ideals amongst that original group as it accepted and influenced agents from the colonies (Jefferson, Franklin, Adams & family, etc., the Jeffs,). Those were the Enlightenment voices creating a U.S.A. Obviously the friendships of that expanding group carried ideals as well. This history is not on the book shelves or in the Libraries.
ReplyDelete