Hi guys, today we're going to look at the five W's of common sense. First up we have the who. Common sense was written by Thomas Paine.
He's originally from England and he only arrives to America about two years before he writes common sense in 1776. He is considered a patriot because he wants to go against England and he's trying to convince all the Americans to join him. Now, what is common sense? It was a pamphlet that said it was common sense to support the patriots.
We discussed in class that common sense being written as a pamphlet instead of a book is very significant because he gets to the point and makes it easy for common people to understand why they need to break away from England. Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense. In 1776, it's actually published in January, so just a couple of months before the Declaration of Independence is written, and it probably is going to inspire a lot of our forefathers as they go to the Continental Congress and decide to declare their independence.
It happens in the Thirteen Colonies, and why does Thomas Paine write this? His main goal is to convince Americans to support the Patriots and break ties with Britain. The big idea here again is that common sense is for common people.
Common people, regular people, just like you and me, are officially convinced to break away from England. So if you're a loyalist at first, after reading this pamphlet, you're going to start thinking things over and deciding maybe you should join the patriot cause. Thanks so much. See you soon.