Inquiring minds want to know The Enlightenment (1650-1800) The
Age of Reason, was a time when man began to use his reason to
discover the world, casting off the superstition and fear of the
medieval world. Rejects the idea of the absolute monarch All men
have rights to life, liberty and property Embraces religious
tolerance
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Second Continental Congress tells Ben Betsy Ross Sam Adams
Abigail Adams His
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"These are the times that try men's souls." Jan. 10, 1776,
Paine published Common Sense Sold 125,000 copies in the first three
months (only 2.5 million living in America at that time) Donated
all his profit from the sale of Common Sense to the Patriot
cause
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Main Arguments of Common Sense: 1.It was absurd for an island
to rule a continent. 2.America was not a "British nation"; it was
composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe. 3.Even if
Britain was the "mother country" of America, that made her actions
all the more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so
brutally. 4.Being a part of Britain would drag America into
unnecessary European wars, and keep it from the international
commerce at which America excelled. 5.The distance between the two
nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy. If some
wrong were to be petitioned to Parliament, it would take a year
before the colonies received a response. 6.Britain ruled the
colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best
interests of the colonists in governing them.
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What was the big deal? Paines pamphlet allowed even the most
common of commoner to enter the political dialogue: It was written
in a straightforward and simple way Complex ideas were made
tangible Even the illiterate could hear it and understand it! It
was off the hookdidnt mince words INDEPENDENCE NOW!