Thomas Paine was a deist. He chose to quote the bible in most of his writings because he understood the readers. He knew that in order for his book to receive the attention he needed, he had to choose a means that was receptive to the ears of his audience (Paine and Kramnick 30).
A majority of Americans had accepted Christianity as a religion. And many of them knew about Christianity. Since religion was one of the ways one could use to influence the decision, he chose to use the Bible. He shows how King George III was like the Pharaoh of England (Paine and Kramnick 45). He also gives an account of how God created the people and how they requested for a King against his will. In so doing, he is against the establishment of a Kingdom in America. He says that one of the sins of the Jews was to accept Monarchy.
Paine goes on to explain that David became a famous and successful ruler not because he was King, but because he was a man after God’s heart. He shows the great power that the King in England wields over them as compared to the Biblical kings. He uses this as an illustration, to make the citizens stop believing that the King had good intentions for America. He goes ahead to explain that with Monarchy, citizens do not have a chance to air their views (Paine and Kramnick 45).
The monarch uses its power to influence decisions even if they are unpopular with the subjects. He makes the readers understand that if they accept to establish a Kingdom, then it could set a precedent that the next ruler would be the heir apparent to the King. If they chose elective politics, then it would also set a precedent for the generations to come.
Thomas Paine urged citizens to develop patriotism for their country. He said that America was big enough to grow self-rule and stop depending on Britain. They had advanced in the economy and had enough wood to make ships and boats of war. They did not have to hire them from other nations. They could form their strong army that no other country could rival, including Great Britain (Paine and Kramnick 20).
Patriots need to know that their colonizers only had a selfish interest in the nation. They chose their best men to fight for a cause that was not their choice. Britain’s enemies were not American competitors. Britain should fight its war and leave America to form its government (Paine and Kramnick 45).
Common sense asks the readers to know that the interest of America is in making peace and trading with other nations. It was not to make enemies everywhere, as Britain had caused them to believe.
People had coined a statement that because America had flourished under Great Britain, the same was to happen in the future of the nation. Paine argues that it was a fallacy to keep them tied to Britain forever, and yet they had the right to rule themselves. America would have flourished much more if the European power had not come to interfere with their trade. He argues that their goods could find a market and earn America more income than it was because of the customs that it had to pay to Great Britain (Paine and Kramnick 50).
The monarch only defends America for the sake of trade and dominion and not because it has good interest in America. The writer argues that the ancient prejudices and sacrifices to superstition had caused America to remain in oblivion. There was no need for reconciliation if Britain was an open enemy. The two countries are miles apart. There was no need to subject such a powerful nation under Britain’s control.
Works Cited
Paine, Thomas, and Isaac Kramnick. Common Sense. Harmondsworth Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1986. Print.