Analysis of Common Sense Pamphlet by Thomas Paine - Essay Example

History and Political Science Thomas Paine was one of the Founding Fathers of America, and atruly radical Father he was. His writings inspired thousands of people to revolt against injustice and to rise up for their rights. His most famous pamphlet ‘Common Sense’ stirred the American Revolution; the French Revolution can very well be blamed on Paine’s ‘Rights of Man’ while ‘The Age of Reason’ ignites in us the capability to base our morality and belief in terms of reason and rationality. Out of sight, out of mind this quote greatly explains why Paine is basically forgotten and misunderstood even though his words still form the basis of the speeches of various American politicians. He had great ideas about equality, democracy, abolishment of slavery, better healthcare and education, pensions and morality. If only we had worked on them this country would have been very different from its current situation. He had a fiercely revolutionary life, he changed the world unfortunately the world did not remember his favors for that long a time. He died basically ignored, but his pamphlets his writings bought him to the pinnacle of success. His words had the influence to transform nations. A man of the Enlightenment, he had great zeal for the idea that the potential of this world is growing to increase tenfold, like he used to quote: “we have it in our power to begin the world over again”. Moving on to Paine’s writings, he considered the status of the King or the Monarch firstly from a biblical view of how religion places him and what respect he deserves. Only then would he move to analyze the historical significance of this authoritative figure of a ‘King’. Paine had a strong belief in the concept of equality he was a great advocate of the notion that each and every person was equal. He always argues that God created all of mankind to be equal and this difference between the status of the king and subject is created by man and hence is not true. He takes help from the Holy Bible of the Christians and the history of the Jews to rebut monarchy as a form of government. He uses the above two sources to quote several examples of why monarchy further deepens the problem of inequality. He disapproves of ‘Hereditary Succession’ as he believes it is a bane for the upcoming generations. This concept of succession was derived for the convenience of kings to select their successor but this got tainted into a right. Hereditary succession is wrong no matter how the king got selected, as in whether he was elected or through usurpation. As mentioned above Paine used examples to illustrate his point and he used the example of England. Highlighting the origins and consequences of a hereditary monarchy, which include civil wars etc. Paine was very critical of the rights and authority of the king as he believed that the king obtained his power through three things which includes being randomly selected, election or usurpation. Paine strictly believed that if the monarchy was in real a democracy as in the king was elected then this entitles this seat to always be elected for in the future too. On the other hand if the king took over the throne then the entire government is illegal. This clearly shows that Paine believed that no matter how the king was selected he did not have the right to position his family as being superior to others. He believed that hereditary succession was not normal as it was the root of all things evil. People selected through this way had this air of arrogance about them and had a superiority complex. Monarchy and hereditary succession bought no good to the society as he quotes the example of 8 civil wars and 19 rebellions in Britain during a time of monarchy and hereditary succession. He was a strong advocate of the notion that this only brought bloodshed and poor governance. Limited monarchy is when the king is bound by a constitution and hence, is accountable. Paine believed that the role of the monarch in this type of monarchy is minimal. The monarchs’ power has become limited and the authority is passed down to the ministers and Royal neutrality in politics should start. Paine was quick to point that the bad governance of recent British kings, this emphasized, even to pro hereditary succession that the current procession of kings do not use their legal powers. As he quotes in ‘Common Sense’ that: “the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise”. (Paine & Phillip 5) He is also seen quoting in the same book: “the more perfect civilization is, the less occasion it has for government” (Paine & Phillip 216) Paine fiercely presented various arguments to refute reconciliation with the British. He was a great supporter of America’s separation and independence. He presented a comparative analysis of the many number of benefits that America would reap if it gains independence. His analysis also showed the various disadvantages of reconciliation with the British. Paine argued that if America reconciled then the king would continue his reign with no considerations of the rights and needs of the Americans, the government would be unstable which would deteriorate the economic conditions and most importantly civil wars would become more common as there would be no protection against them. Paine believed that it was ripe time for revolution, of independence with a government and constitution but no monarch just justice and law and equality for all. Paine was a strong believer of the fact that America was ready for a revolution because of the presence of the youth and the fact that this country was blessed. However, there were still a few things required which includes a better navy than that of Britain and a constitution so as to have a proper government before somebody usurps the seat of the leader. Paine believed the main reason for this revolution was to promote equal rights and freedom especially the freedom to practice which ever religion anyone followed, with no restrictions. Paine argued that a ‘Declaration of Independence’ should be created for the above mentioned reasons along with the fact that this would create a very good image of America on the world stage. An example would be that other governments would want to ally themselves with America and hence, the country would become attractive for investors and property owners which would enhance the country’s economy. Paine presented various examples from the Bible to show how much God is displeased with monarchy which paves the way for America to become independent of Britain (Paine). To sum it up Paine denounces the fusion of religion and politics and he was hopeful that nobody in the United States of America approved of this mingling. Works Cited Paine, Thomas, and Mark Philip. Rights of Man: Common Sense; and Other Political Writings. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print. Paine, Thomas. Thomas Paine on Liberty: Including Common Sense and Other Writings. New York: Skyhorse Pub, 2012. Web. Read More