Common Sense

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1776

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Literary Devices

Repetition

Paine repeats many of his points. Repetition, properly used, can overcome resistance, build an edifice of evidence, and implant ideas firmly in the minds of readers. Multiple times Paine argues at length that Britain is incompetent to govern America, that its king is cruel and heartless, and that the right time to break from the mother country is forthwith. To the second edition he added an Appendix that, when it isn’t lavishly excoriating the British king, restates yet again many of Paine’s main arguments.

Call to Action

Paine offers a call to action that is a goad to righteous anger as well as a shiv of guilt aimed at those yet unconvinced:

Hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, then are you not a judge of those who have (30).

Later, he evokes the fulminating sermons of Enlightenment preachers while invoking feelings of pride and honor among those offended by Britain’s treatment of its colonies: “O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth!” (41).

Evidence

Exhortations aren’t enough; arguments in favor of independence must first be raised and proven, and, for many of his points, Paine provides ample evidence. Often, this evidence takes the form of a reasoned argument; sometimes it’s a listing of evidence; in one instance, it consists of two tables filled with data.

An example of a reasoned argument is Paine’s theory that the divine right of kings to rule is in fact a usurpation of rights belonging to the people. First, someone is chosen by acclaim to be king; then, the king sets up his children to be the next rulers: “though himself might deserve some decent degree of honors of his contemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too unworthy to inherit them” (16). To make matters worse, most first kings get their power not by acclaim but by conquest, a fact that calls into question the validity of having the sons of a usurper reign as well. Thus, hereditary rule is an improper taking of liberty.

An example of an argument by a listing of evidence is Paine’s case for America to build its own navy:

In almost every article of defence we abound. Hemp flourishes even to rankness, so that we need not want cordage. Our iron is superior to that of other countries. Our small arms equal to any in the world. Cannons we can cast at pleasure. Saltpetre and gunpowder we are every day producing. Our knowledge is hourly improving. Resolution is our inherent character, and courage hath never yet forsaken us. Wherefore, what is it that we want? (48).

To the third edition, Paine adds, on page 44, two tables that list British naval vessels and their expense, by way of arguing for the building of an American navy. The prices suggest that a fleet won’t cost too much, and the rows and columns of items and numbers add a gloss of technical authority.

Other Rhetorical Effects

Paine’s pamphlet uses effects found in church sermons. Early in the pamphlet, he preaches about both good and evil men trying to rule over countries, as if warning a congregation against such folly. He makes extended reference to the Bible, describing God’s warnings against establishing rule by king; the passage includes many long quotes from scripture. Elsewhere, he offers suggestions for the creation of a republic, ending the chapter with the invocation, “Whose peace and happiness, may God preserve, Amen” (38). Paine’s purpose is to cater to the deep American penchant for spirituality and to prove that his support for the revolution has religious underpinnings.

Paine also uses tricks and sophistry to sell his arguments. For example:

“There are injuries which nature cannot forgive; she would cease to be nature if she did” (40). This statement implies that human nature must rise up against certain offenses; it ignores other alternatives. The goal is to herd readers toward the author’s preferred solution—open rebellion.
“Every spot of the old world is over-run with oppression” (41). It may be true that most countries in 1776 are despotic; the idea that all are oppressive aims to push the reader toward the desperate conclusion that only the American colonies can save the world from dictators.
“Do they put themselves in the place of the sufferer whose all is already gone, and of the soldier, who hath quitted all for the defence of his country” (60). This attack against doubters of the rebellion uses the Sunk Cost Fallacy, by which losses already suffered are considered reason enough to continue a risky gamble.

The title, Common Sense, is an anchor that predisposes the reader to believe that what the pamphlet says must be true.

By and large, Paine makes cogent arguments in support of his advocacy for independence, but he also is a rabble-rouser, agitator, and propagandist for the rebel cause—a master of what, in later centuries, would come to be called agitprop.