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Student Number: 1916750

Was Thomas Paine's influence on the outcome of the American

Revolution greater than his influence on the radical movement in

Britain before 1783?

Thomas Paine, a political writer, was born in Thetford, England on 9

February 1737. Paine lived through two major revolutions: the

American and French Revolutions, and he played a major role in both.

This essay will attempt to decipher whether his influence on the

outcome of the American Revolution was greater than his influence on

the radical movement in Britain before 1791. In order to do this,

it is necessary to consider the circumstances which led Paine to

write his revolutionary pamphlet Common Sense. After making clear

the ideas contained in the pamphlet , this essay will then consider

the goals of the American rebels and the British Radicals before the

work was published and then compare them to the ideas they advocated

after the work was published to identify what, if any, impact it had

upon them. The revolutionary sixteen part series American Crisis

(1776-1783) written during the revolutionary war will also be

discussed to identify whether it had any great influence on the

American rebels or the British radicals.

In 1774 Paine travelled to America with a letter of recommendation

from Benjamin Franklin whom he had met in England, and he had an

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idealised vision for the future of the colonies. At the time he

arrived, America was still the weakest link in the colonial chain,

and it seemed that Britain was effective in its control.1 Paine

found work as executive editor of a journal entitled The Pennsylvania

Magazine after meeting its founder in a bookshop. Aitken, who had

emigrated from Aberdeen, was impressed with Paine’s knowledge of and

ability to talk at length about political affairs. The magazine,

Aitken envisioned, was to be a magazine produced in the American

colonies for the American Colonists.2 Paine accepted the position

as he believed the post suited his skills, talents and aspirations.

He proclaimed that he had found the ‘one kind of life I am fit for,

and that is a thinking one, and, of course, a writing one’.3 Paine

contributed between seventeen to twenty-one articles to The

Pennsylvania Magazine under such pseudonyms as ‘Atlantics’ and ‘Esop’

and much of his impressive contribution focused on the issues

concerning America’s position in the British Empire. Keane argues

that this gave Paine invaluable writing experience and enabled him

to develop the skills he employed to write Common Sense. Paine was

successful in increasing the subscriptions to the magazine from 600

to 1500, making it the most widely read periodical at the time.

This was partly due to Paine’s poem entitled ‘Death of General

1 Keane, J., Tom Paine: a political life (London: Bloomsbury, 1995), pp. 84-852 Ibid, pp. 92-953 Nelson, C., Thomas Paine: His Life, His Time and the Birth of Modern Nations (London: Profile Books Ltd., 2007), p. 62

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Wolfe’, which enticed the Americans with its eloquent imagery.4

Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphian physician, was particularly impressed

by the poem. Paine struck up a relationship with Rush after meeting

him in Aitken’s bookshop in mid-March 1775 due to their common

interest in politics.5 Paine, up to this point, had not been in

support of independence. However, his opinion drastically altered

upon hearing the news of the Battle of Lexington. This can be seen

in his submission to the July 1775 issue of The Pennsylvania Magazine

which questioned the use of violence to justify control over a

colony.6

Ayer argues that Paine was an extremely talented journalist who used

his literary skill to capture the imagination of ordinary

Americans.7 The Pennsylvania Journal on 24 November 1775 contained a

letter entitled ‘A Lover of Order’ which is widely believed by

historians to be Paine’s. This was the first indication that Paine

had accepted independence, as it contained an attack on the

Pennsylvania Assembly which had instructed its delegates to ’dissent

from, and utterly reject any propositions should such be made, that

may cause, or lead to, a separation from Our Mother Country, or a

change of the form of this Government’. The letter argued that ‘The

Delegates in Congress are not Delegates of the Assembly but of the 4 Foner, P.S., The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine Vol. II (New York: The Citadel Press, 1969) ,p. 18035 Keane, J., Tom Paine: a political life, p. 100 6 Ibid, p. 1017 Ayer, A.J., Thomas Paine (London: Faber & Faber, 1988), p. 12

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People –of the Body in Large’. This was an attack on the

Pennsylvania Assembly and advocated that it should favour

independence in line with public opinion. However, Paine was well

aware that independence was not favoured my most Americans at this

time and he was convinced he had to do something drastic to turn the

tide of public opinion.8

After an argument with Aitken over pay, Paine gradually withdrew

from writing for the magazine. He also turned down generous offers

from ‘several literary gentlemen’ in Philadelphia to form a rival

magazine, instead favouring the idea of writing a pamphlet on the

current dysfunctional relationship between Britain and America.

Rush encouraged Paine in this, while reminding him that American

public opinion remained against any ideas of a breakdown in the

relationship of the colonies and her masters. Rush warned him that

‘there were two words which he should avoid by every means necessary

for his own safety and that of the public – independence and

republicanism –‘. Keane states that Americans, in spirit, could be

viewed as more English than the English and any talk of independence

would endanger Paine. In January 1775, the New York Assembly

respectfully warned Paine that ‘that the grandeur and strength of

the British empire’ depended ‘essentially on a restoration of

harmony of affection between the mother country and her colonies.’9

8 Ibid, p. 99 Keane, Tom Paine: a political life, pp. 104-107

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This idealised view of parliament and George III was held by most

Americans, and this did not alter after the British issued the

‘Proclamation of Rebellion’ on the colonies and the very word

‘independence’ remained a taboo subject. The New Jersey Assembly

also instructed it delegates in Congress to continue to push ‘for

reconciliation with the mother country’. Paine, however, was not

so sentimental about George III and the British Constitution, and

shrugged off various acts of slander on his character, and continued

to voice his opinion that reconciliation would not benefit America.

Again Paine was encouraged by Rush who claimed that he had the

ability to disarm the British tyrant if he chose his words

carefully.10 Paine set about writing his pamphlet and the final

draft was read enthusiastically by Rush, Franklin and David

Rittenhouse. It is widely believed that Franklin was so impressed

with the work that he accepted Paine’s notion of independence. The

most significant alteration to the document was Rush’s

recommendation to rename the pamphlet Common Sense rather than

Paine’s suggestion of Plain Truth. On January 10, 1776 Common Sense,

published anonymously and priced at two shillings, entered the

political debate.11

10 Ibid, p. 10611 Ibid, p. 107

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So what did the pamphlet advocate? Common Sense starts off with a few

remarks about the English Constitution. Paine is critical of the

constitution and the very basis on which it was founded.

The constitution of England is so exceedingly complex… Yet if we will suffer ourselves to examine the component parts of the English constitution, we shall find them to be the base of two ancient tyrannies… the remains of monarchical tyranny in the person of the king… the remains of aristocratical tyranny in the persons of the peers.12

Paine was very critical of the monarchy as an institution. He

stated that Britain’s constitutional monarchy posed the same dangers

as absolute monarchy found in Spain and France, as the monarch was

still able to exercise a great deal of unchecked power.

There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy…that the crown is the overbearing part in the English constitution needs not to be mentioned…though we have been wise enough to shut and lock a door against absolute monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough to put the crown in possession of the key.13

Paine also questioned hereditary succession. He believed that

hereditary succession was a corrupt system as it ran the risk of

having descendants come to the throne who may be inept, barbaric and

inhumane.

To the evil of monarchy we have added that of hereditary succession;and as the first is a degradation and lessening of ourselves, so thesecond, claimed as a matter of right, is an insult and an impositionon posterity. For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever, and though himself might deserve some decent

12 Paine. T., Common Sense (New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1997) , pp. 5-6 13 Ibid, pp. 6-7

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degree of honours of his contemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them.14

Paine goes onto discuss the relationship between Britain and

America. He claims that Britain is only protecting America to

fulfil its own self-interests and not due any great love of America.

He also claims that if America was not a part of Britain she would

not have to be protected against the likes of France and Spain as it

is not her enemy but Britain’s.

We have boasted the protection of Great-Britain, without considering, that her motive was interest not attachment; that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from the her enemies on her own account, from those whohad no quarrel with us on any other account, and who will always be our enemies on the same account… France and Spain never were, nor perhaps ever will be our enemies as Americans, but as our being subjects of Great-Britain.15

Paine tried to convince Americans that reconciliation was an unwise

policy to adopt. Instead, Paine called for independence.

Reconciliation and ruin are nearly related… but the most powerful of all arguments, is, that nothing but independence.16

Paine ended his pamphlet with a sincere farewell to British

political factions and called on all Americans to support the push

for an independent America.

Let the names of Whig and Tory be exctinct; and let none other be heard among us, than those of a good citizen, an open and resolute friend, and a virtuos supporter of the RIGHTS of MANKIND and of the FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA.17

14 Ibid, p. 1215 Ibid, p. 1916 Ibid, p. 2817 Ibid, pp. 52-53

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In order to ascertain whether Common Sense had a major effect on

American rebels, it is necessary to look at their aims and goals

prior to its publication. Most Americans were wary of the notion of

breaking their ties with Britain, as they feared that without the

British monarch their politics would degenerate into unchecked

anarchy and tyranny. The majority of colonists also feared that if

they gained independence America would become a petty and

insignificant state, like Poland, which would be open to foreign

aggression.18 As a result, most of the Colonial assemblies

instructed their delegates to make sure that they maintained their

colonial ties. However, many leading Americans were not as

convinced by Common Sense as Rush and Franklin. Rebel John Adams

supported Paine’s notion of independence, but disagreed with his

proposed plans for government stating that it ‘was so democratical,

without any restraint or even an attempt at any equilibrium or

counterpoise, that it must produce confusion and every evil work’.

Adams was also distrustful of Paine himself, and claimed that he was

‘a star of disaster’ and that he was ignorant, foolish and a knave

hypocrite.19 Other American Loyalists ridiculed Paine, coining him

‘a crack brained zealot for democracy’ and a ‘violent republican’.20

Davidson also states that Adams believed that the ideas advocated in

18 Bailyn, B., The ideological Origins of the American Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992), p. 14219 Bailyn, The ideological Origins of the American Revolution, pp. 287-28820 Foner, E., Tom Paine and Revolutionary America (New York : Oxford University Press, 1976), pp. 120-121

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Common Sense were nothing new to the debate and were just a rewording

of works that frequently appeared in Continental Congress.21

Despite the negative criticisms of Common Sense, the work did have a

positive impact on many Americans. Paine’s most influential

critic, Adams, was even more convinced about the need for

independence after reading Common Sense. Adam’s wrote to Jefferson

stating that because of Common Sense ‘every post and every day rolls

us upon us independence like a torrent… History is to ascribe the

American Revolution to Thomas Paine’.22 Kind remarks from a major

critic of Paine. Paine’s pamphlet also gave impetus to the

passionate debate amongst Americans about independence from Britain.

Bailyn is of the opinion that the pamphlet was so inspiring for the

Americans as it contained enticing and iconoclastic rhetoric against

the English monarchy, the one last remaining link between Britain

and the colonies in early 1776. He states that the work was key to

convincing many Americans to adopt a pro-independence stance.23

Foner states that it would be foolish to argue that Common Sense

‘caused’ the movement if favour of American independence. It took

six months after its publication for Congress to approve the work

and formulate the Declaration of Independence. Common Sense,

however, articulated feelings that had been held by many Americans 21 Davidson, P., Propaganda and the American Revolution (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina, 1941), p.1422 Nelson, Thomas Paine: His Life, His Time and the Birth of Modern Nations, p. 93 23 Bailyn, The ideological Origins of the American Revolution, p. 285

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for some time, that the conflict with Britain over the right to

tax, the war with Britain, and the use of German mercenaries against

them would lead to a significant outcome for the thirteen colonies.

The work successfully debunked many arguments for reconciliation.

Common Sense was full of ideas that appealed to the common American

and was delivered at a time when public opinion was moving towards

the desire for independence. Despite not being the initial ‘cause’

of the movement for independence, Common Sense was key to persuading

many Americans to support independence rather than reconciliation

with Britain.24 Paine’s influence even reached leading figures

within the army: George Washington responded to a letter written by

General Charles Lee commenting that

The sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning contained in the pamphlet Common Sense will not leave members [ of Congress] at a loss to decide upon the propriety of separation… [It is] working a wonderful change in the minds of many men.25

Extracts from American newspapers clearly show Paine’s influence on

ordinary Americans. The first is from a letter written under the

pseudonym ‘Essex’:

In your famous pamphlet entitled Common Sense, by which I am convinced of the necessity of Independence, to which I was before averse, you have givenliberty to every individual to contribute materials for that great building, the grand charter of American Liberty.26

24 Foner., Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, p. 8625 Nelson, Thomas Paine: His Life, His Time and the Birth of Modern Nations,p. 93 26 The New-York Journal 17 March 1776 (National Humanities Centre Resource ToolboxMaking the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)

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This second example is an extract of a letter from Maryland,

February 6, 1776:

If you know the author of COMMON SENSE, tell him he has done wondersand worked miracles.27

This last example is addressed to the ‘Author of the Pamphlet

entitled Common Sense’

Sir, in declaring your own, you have declared the sentiments of Millions. Your production may justly be compared to a land-flood that sweeps all before it. We were blind, but on reading these enlightening works the scales have fallen from our eyes28

Paine’s work was particularly influential in Philadelphia, inspiring

a movement led by the Scottish-Irish settlers in the western

counties who wanted to overthrow the loyalist and Quaker dominated

assembly and replace it with delegates who would push for

independence in Congress. They, somewhat naively, believed that

independence would allow them to gain universal suffrage which would

overturn the dominance of the American oligarchy.29 Common Sense was

nothing short of a divisive issue in Philadelphia. ‘Cato’ letters

appeared in the press and claimed to speak for the merchants and

landed aristocracy who still favoured maintaining their colonial

ties with Britain. These anonymous letters were believed to have 27 The Pennsylvania Evening Post, 13 Feb. 1776 (National Humanities Centre Resource ToolboxMaking the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)28 The New-London [Connecticut] Gazette, 22 March 1776 (National Humanities Centre Resource ToolboxMaking the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)29 Keane, Tom Paine: a political life, p. 129

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been written by Reverend Dr. William Smith, who falsely claimed that

‘nine tenths of the people of Pennsylvania yet abhor the doctrine’

of independence. Paine set upon trying to disprove Smith’s

arguments.30 Despite the Conservatives attempts, the Pennsylvanian

Assembly buckled to the radicals’ pressure and sent pro-independence

sympathisers to Congress, which can be seen as victories for both

Paine and America. In Congress, discussions for accepting

independence were progressing well, and Paine set about convincing

swing voters on the urgency for independence. Paine, had no real

input in formulating the Declaration of Independence, but his

influence had come six months earlier in the form of his Pamphlet

Common Sense.31

It is clear that Common Sense, despite having had its critics, was a

very influential document. Keane states that Common Sense was the

most important political document of the early phase of the American

Revolution as within a month of publication it had sold 500,000

copies. Keane likens the influence of this work to that of

Washington on the battlefield and Franklin on the diplomatic Front.32

He argues that Paine’s effective use of simplistic language allowed

uneducated Americans to fully grasp the arguments advocated. It was

abusive and seditious towards feudal, monarchical and clerical

30 Ibid, pp. 130-13131 Ibid, p. 13532 Ibid, p. 110

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institutions which many Americans had become distrustful of. The

work was also tailored to suit the mind set of Protestant dissenters

and contained many anti-Catholic sentiments.33 Ayer also states that

Common Sense can be viewed as a political success in that it

convinced a large number of Americans that they should settle for

nothing less than independence. It did not, however, give America a

military advantage. General Washington was on the defensive for

most of 1776 and soon after the ‘Declaration of Independence’ was in

signed July 1776 the Americans were forced to give up New York and

retreat across the Hudson River to New Jersey. 34 Foner believes

that Paine’s occupation as the first professional pamphleteer in

America led to his popularity and his ability to popularise support

for the war within America.35 It is clear that Common Sense was very

influential in convincing the American rebels to accept

independence.

But what about Paine’s impact on the British Radical movement? The

British radical movement prior to Common Sense was largely grouped

into two factions: Christopher Wyvill’s moderate reformers and the

more radical ‘friends of Wilkes’. Wyvill led a group of

disillusioned country gentlemen who strove for the end of so-called

rotten boroughs and crown patronage.36 Wilkes, a charismatic and 33 Ibid, pp. 113-11434 Ayer., Thomas Paine, p. 4435 Foner., Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, p. xix36 Christie, I.R., ‘The Yorkshire Association, 1780-4: A Study in Political Organization’, in The Historical Journal, Vol.3, No.2 (1960), pp. 144–161

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litigious individual, organised protests and rallies in support for

the Americans, and largely condemned the war effort against them.37

There is some evidence to suggest that Paine’s work was influential

in Britain. On December 1787, Paine was elected as honorary member

of the Society for Constitutional Information, founded by Major John

Cartwright, which was an emerging radical society committed to

Parliamentary reform. This society’s membership was small, due to

the hefty subscription of five guineas a year, but it suggests that

Paine had influenced radical societies in a positive way.38 However,

this only occurred eleven years after Common Sense was published.

Foner argues that Paine’s utopian image of America provided ‘working

class radicalism with its vocabulary, its standard of right and

wrong, its interpretation of the past and its hopes for the

future’.39 This, however, was only fully realised in the radical

movement during the French Revolution, and during the American

Revolution Paine’s impact was much less influential.

Paine’s Common Sense was one of a number of revolutionary pamphlets

mass-produced in London and was, by far, the most popular.40 Bonwick

states that, despite Common Sense being widely read in England, it

did not have a significant impact on the radical movement.41 He 37 Dickinson, H.T., ‘Our American Brethren: British Sympathizers with The American Colonists’ in Douglas Southall Freeman Historical Review Spring 1997, pg. 36 38 Bonwick, C., English Radicals and the American Revolution (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, c1977), p. 13539 Foner., Tom Paine and Revolutionary America, p. 26940 Bonwick., English Radicals and the American Revolution, pp. 39, 41,4441 Ibid, p. 44

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states that this is due to the English publishers of the work such

as J. Almon Publishing, who omitted significant passages which were

deemed overly critical of the role of the monarchy, George III and

the government, to avoid being prosecuted. This resulted in much

of the meaning being lost and its influence therefore on British

radicals was not as significant as it should have been.42 Paine had

much more influence on the British Radical movement in the 1790s

than he had on the British radical movement at the time of the

American Revolution.43 Aldridge has estimated that twenty different

issues of Common Sense appeared in the British Isles in 1776 alone,

but then no new additions emerged until 1791. He also argues that

Common Sense was circulated in Britain at a time when revolutionary

texts were fashionable, and that its popularity may not necessarily

have had much to do with its merits.44

Common Sense did appear in some radical newspapers. A sizable

extract of Common Sense was published in the English based newspaper

London Evening Post on May 28, 1776 - May 30, 1776, but, as stated

earlier, most of the risqué passages were omitted. This might be

due to the paper having had a history of conflict with the British

government. Its former editor Richard Nutt, a fierce critic of the42 Ibid, p. 4143 Ibid, p. 22644 Aldridge, A.O., ‘The Influence of Thomas Paine in the United States of America, England, France, Germany, and South America’ in Friederich, W.P., (ed.) Comparative Literature: Proceedings of the Second Congress of the International Comparative Literature Association (New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1970), p. 372

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government and a prominent radical, was found guilty of seditious

libel and sentenced to imprisonment, as well as being given a fine

and an order to stand in the pillory. The newspaper’s national

circulation was significantly reduced by a ban on distribution

through the Post Office at the time of the General Election of

1754.45 The General Evening Post, also based in London, published an

extract in June 1, 1776 - June 4, 1776. By the late 1770s

circulation of this newspaper was about 4,500.46 Despite this media

coverage, much of the meaning of Paine’s work was lost.

There is evidence that Paine influenced some radicals in an article

by Ximenes, published in London Evening Post from September 30, 1777 -

October 2, 1777:

Waving the idea of justice in our American War (a principle that may be converted) let us consider COMMON SENSE. Are not all Americans well acquainted with the depravity of this kingdom?... The time may come, when the veil of interest and prejudice is removed, that the present struggle will be deemed a just and noble effort to preserve the most inestimable blessings, their liberties…47

Paine’s pamphlet was also attacked by various sources within the

British Parliament. The Tory, James Chalmers, in his work entitled

Plain Truth, ironically Paine’s chosen title, defended the British

constitution by stating that it was ‘the pride and envy of mankind’

45 London Evening Post (London, England), May 28, 1776 - May 30, 1776; Issue 8455 (British Newspapers 1600-1900)46 General Evening Post (London, England), June 1, 1776 - June 4, 1776; Issue 6621(British Newspapers 1600-1900)47 General Evening Post (London, England), September 30, 1777 - October 2, 1777; Issue 8665 (British Newspapers 1600-1900)

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and that it was a ‘beautiful system’. He also attacked Paine’s

views on human nature and the monarchy, by stating that without the

crown ‘our constitution would immediately degenerate into

democracy.’48

Wyvill rejected Paine’s ideas and even denied his involvement in the

radical movement altogether. Wyvill was repulsed by the so-called

horrendous idea to overturn the monarchical government system and

replace it with a popular, democratic government. He believed that

Paine’s ideas were damaging to his own movements goals.49 British

radicals at the time of the American Revolution largely consisted of

independent country gentlemen who opposed the British government on

issues such as high level of taxation, constituency boundaries and

ministerial corruption which existed in Royal patronage, placemen,

pensions and septennial elections. The individuals who held these

grievances were likely to have been appalled at the ideas

advocated in Common Sense.50

Paine’s Common Sense was also largely concerned with American issues,

and was written in such a way as to inspire Americans to revolt

against the British. Macleod states that Paine wrote of the

American Revolution not as an Englishmen but as an American and

therefore his involvement in the British reformer movement is 48 Bailyn., The ideological Origins of the American Revolution, pp. 287-28849 Bonwick., English Radicals and the American Revolution, p. 2250 Royle, E., Modern Britain: A Social History 1750-1997 (London: Arnold, 1997), p. 119

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complicated. She states that British radicals such as Cartwright

and Priestly wrote their radical texts with Britain as their primary

problem and focus. Paine, however, was far more interested and

excited about the developments in America and the New World and was

disillusioned by the British and this is reflected in his works.51

Dickinson is of the opinion that British public opinion did not

fully accept Common Sense, due to the great lengths to which the

author had gone to abuse his native country. Many Britons from all

areas of society believed that the author had betrayed them and the

English constitution. Dickinson has also identified another

response to Common Sense originating in Britain. It was a pamphlet

entitled Reason, In answer to a pamphlet entituled, Common Sense (Dublin, 1776)

written by an Anglo-Irishman. This pamphlet defended the British

constitution and mixed government by hailing it the most superior

form of government. The pamphlet also rejected Paine’s ideas and

warned the colonists that if they followed Paine’s advice then they

would be at war with either each other or another European power.52

Perry also states that the ideas in Common Sense not only shocked the

British but terrified them53. It is, therefore, clear that Paine

51 Macleod, E.V., British Visions of America, 1775-1820 (London: Pickering & Chatto Publishers, 2013), pp. 9-10, 1352 Dickinson, H.T., ‘Thomas Paine and his British Critics’, Enlightenment and Dissent, 27 (2011), pp. 23-2453 Perry, K., British Politics and The American Revolution (Basingstoke: Macmillan Press LTD, 1990), p. 126

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did not enthuse the British radicals in the way that he had done the

American Rebels.

Thomas Paine’s influence on the outcome of the American Revolution

was also strengthened due to his American Crisis Series which opens:

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and thesunshine patiot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and women.54

Davidson has argued that this propaganda series was the most

important contribution to the Revolutionary war and was written to

inspire American public opinion. Davidson states that Paine’s good

timing and shrewd writing made him one of the most influential

morale boosters during the war.55 General Washington was so

inspired after reading the first essay, he ordered that it should be

read to the troops at Valley Forge. Claeys is of the opinion that

American Crisis was instrumental in maintaining American support

throughout the War. By 1783, Paine had written sixteen essays from

an American perspective which helped boost morale in the

revolutionary war against Britain and he could finally proclaim

victory.56 He wrote in his final essay:

54 Foner, P.S., The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine vol. I (New York: The Citadel Press, 1969) ,p. 5055 Davidson, Propaganda and the American Revolution, p. 13956 Wilson, D.A., Paine and Cobbett: The Transatlantic Connection (Kingston: McGill-Queens’s University Press, 1988), p. 60

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“The times that tried men souls,” are over – and the greatest and completest revolution the world has ever knew, gloriously and happily accomplished.57

The American Crisis was written for an American audience who were

hostile to Britain and, therefore, it had little impact on British

Radicals.

In conclusion, Americans prior to the publication of Common Sense

were wary of the idea of independence. The Colonial Assemblies

largely advocated reconciliation with Britain, fearing that

separation would endanger the nation from foreign aggression.

Paine’s simplistic choice of language, however, convinced Americans

from all walks of life to accept the notion of independence. Paine

was certainly not without his critics in America. Adams proclaimed

Paine ‘a crack brained zealot for democracy’. However, leading

America rebels Franklin and Washington were much more accepting of

Paine’s work. The American Crisis series was an excellent morale

booster for the American troops who were struggling with the on-

going conflict with the British tyrant.

In Britain however, Common Sense was not so enthusiastically accepted.

The moderate English country gentlemen reformers had an effective

leader in Wyvill, and they were repulsed at the notions advocated by

Paine. Wilkes was a charismatic individual who inspired the more

57 Foner, The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine vol. I, p. 230

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radical British reformers and Paine’s ideas were overshadowed by

this. Paine’s work did appear in various radical newspapers, but

much of the controversial material was omitted. Paine’s work

during this period was also written for an American audience and

this goes a long way to explaining why Paine had little influence on

British Radicalism. Paine’s influence on the outcome of the

American Revolution was, therefore, undoubtedly greater than his

influence on the radical movement in Britain before 1783.

Word Count: 4,441

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Bibliography

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23

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Perry, K., British Politics and The American Revolution (Basingstoke: Macmillan

Press LTD, 1990)

Royle, E., Modern Britain: A Social History 1750-1997 (London: Arnold, 1997)

Wilson, D.A., Paine and Cobbett: The Transatlantic Connection (Kingston:

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Primary Sources

24

Foner, P.S., The Complete Writings of Thomas Paine Vols. I and II (New York: The

Citadel Press, 1969)

General Evening Post (London, England), September 30, 1777 - October 2,

1777; Issue 8665 (British Newspapers 1600-1900)

General Evening Post (London, England), June 1, 1776 - June 4, 1776;

Issue 6621 (British Newspapers 1600-1900)

London Evening Post (London, England), May 28, 1776 - May 30, 1776;

Issue 8455 (British Newspapers 1600-1900)

Paine. T., Common Sense (New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1997)

The New-London [Connecticut] Gazette, 22 March 1776 (National Humanities

Centre Resource Toolbox Making the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)

The New-York Journal 17 March 1776 (National Humanities Centre Resource

Toolbox Making the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)

The Pennsylvania Evening Post, 13 Feb. 1776 (National Humanities Centre

Resource Toolbox Making the Revolution: America, 1763-1791)