In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote the pamphlet Common Sense that challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. Paine spoke to the common people of America and asked for independence from Britain and provides information to support his viewpoint of the problems with the governmental rule in colonial America. The document was written to encourage colonists to think about the problems that were wrong with England and its tyrannical King ruling a country from completely different land mass. Ultimately, Paine's writing heavily influenced the beginnings of the Revolutionary War and the Declaration of Independence. In order to appeal to the common man, Paine used direct and concise language which strategically laid out the arguments he was aiming to make.
In the beginning of his pamphlet Paine stated, "I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense" (326), implying that the common man could and should relate to him because they would be able to understand what he was talking about; after all, it is "common sense" to know. He continues to provide facts, rather than opinions, to increase his credibility and strengthen his argument. His appeal to logos enabled the common man to understand why the colonists were needed to stop the tyrannical rule of the British King, what their purpose was, and how they should go about doing it. In freeing themselves from such a ruler, the colonists would then be able to improve the government of the colonies and and allow for them to receive the rights that they deserved and were entitled to and to freely express them, rather than constantly be under the watch of an outside force. The way in which he presented his information to the audience made it seem as if what he was saying was a definite and irrefutable fact. Adding to his credibility, Paine also made many appeals to ethos to provide for a stronger argument.
In the third paragraph of Paine's Common Sense, his arguments almost entirely rely rhetorically on the use metaphors. Paine use of metaphors is able to simplify complex arguments by providing the common people of America with concepts they are familiar with, for his audience is the common man rather than political elites, so by making his arguments more understandable to his audience, he is more likely to be able to relate with them and gain a stronger following for the cause. Paine refutes the argument that because America has been so successful with the help of the British that it must therefore remain under British rule: "Now is the seed time of continental union, faith, and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters" (327). Paine argues that with the help of his pamphlet, the colonies will unit as a whole, and because they are in the beginning phase of joining together, they are like a seed. However, though they may not be successful in their first attempts at liberating themselves from the British, they will grow and learn from their mistakes and ultimately reign victorious.
Paine argues that as long as the colonies are still under the oppressive rule of the British that they will never be able to have friendly relations with them, as the British will always view themselves as superior and the colonists inferior. To add to his argument, Paine addresses the Stamp Act of 1765 where Parliament imposed taxes on a variety of printed materials in colonies, which the colonists highly unfavored. He goes on to argue that Parliaments responses to the American protests should have been a revocation of the tax; however instead, in 1767, Parliament imposed a new set of taxes on a large range of goods in the colonies with the intention to further anger the colonists.
To conclude his argument, Paine proposes that the colonists have a relative power for their political structure; each colony should be divided into districts and each would send delegates to Congress. The President would be chosen from one colony, and in the next election, the President would represent a different colony. He stated that the process should be repeated until a President has come from each of the American colonies. Overall, Paine's system would give the colonies more power that was less democratic at a national level, which in return gave less power to colonies with larger populations.
In the beginning of his pamphlet Paine stated, "I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense" (326), implying that the common man could and should relate to him because they would be able to understand what he was talking about; after all, it is "common sense" to know. He continues to provide facts, rather than opinions, to increase his credibility and strengthen his argument. His appeal to logos enabled the common man to understand why the colonists were needed to stop the tyrannical rule of the British King, what their purpose was, and how they should go about doing it. In freeing themselves from such a ruler, the colonists would then be able to improve the government of the colonies and and allow for them to receive the rights that they deserved and were entitled to and to freely express them, rather than constantly be under the watch of an outside force. The way in which he presented his information to the audience made it seem as if what he was saying was a definite and irrefutable fact. Adding to his credibility, Paine also made many appeals to ethos to provide for a stronger argument.
In the third paragraph of Paine's Common Sense, his arguments almost entirely rely rhetorically on the use metaphors. Paine use of metaphors is able to simplify complex arguments by providing the common people of America with concepts they are familiar with, for his audience is the common man rather than political elites, so by making his arguments more understandable to his audience, he is more likely to be able to relate with them and gain a stronger following for the cause. Paine refutes the argument that because America has been so successful with the help of the British that it must therefore remain under British rule: "Now is the seed time of continental union, faith, and honor. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read it in full grown characters" (327). Paine argues that with the help of his pamphlet, the colonies will unit as a whole, and because they are in the beginning phase of joining together, they are like a seed. However, though they may not be successful in their first attempts at liberating themselves from the British, they will grow and learn from their mistakes and ultimately reign victorious.
Paine argues that as long as the colonies are still under the oppressive rule of the British that they will never be able to have friendly relations with them, as the British will always view themselves as superior and the colonists inferior. To add to his argument, Paine addresses the Stamp Act of 1765 where Parliament imposed taxes on a variety of printed materials in colonies, which the colonists highly unfavored. He goes on to argue that Parliaments responses to the American protests should have been a revocation of the tax; however instead, in 1767, Parliament imposed a new set of taxes on a large range of goods in the colonies with the intention to further anger the colonists.
To conclude his argument, Paine proposes that the colonists have a relative power for their political structure; each colony should be divided into districts and each would send delegates to Congress. The President would be chosen from one colony, and in the next election, the President would represent a different colony. He stated that the process should be repeated until a President has come from each of the American colonies. Overall, Paine's system would give the colonies more power that was less democratic at a national level, which in return gave less power to colonies with larger populations.