10/10/2026
Thomas Paine's Common Sense was first published in February 1776. It is an important document that supported the American Revolutionary cause. The pamphlet was well written and clearly explained why America should be independent of Britain, which brought many more supporters to the cause. Many of his arguments are still relevant today.
By December 1776, America’s army was experiencing defeat on the battlefield; they lost the Forts of Washington and Lee, thousands of soldiers were captured, and enlistments were expiring. Washington predicted that unless there is the “speedy recruitment of a new army,” the “game is pretty well up.” Thomas Paine steps up again to rekindle the revolutionary fire in America.
In December 1776, Paine published “Crisis.” You may not recognize the title, but you will recognize the opening lines:
"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated…."
Paine turned despair into determination, rallied a freezing Continental Army before the Battle of Trenton, and sustained public resolve through the war's darkest hours.
🖼️ George Washington Inspecting the Captured Colors After the Battle of Trenton, 1914, Edward Percy Moran, Library of Congress.
