Introduction
Certain individuals stand out clearly in American history. This is due to the significant contributions that they made towards making the United States of America we know today. Among these is the third president of America Thomas Jefferson. Being a political philosopher, Jefferson stepped up and took the task of drafting the Declaration of Independence document with a lot of precision that he remains a popular figure amongst many citizens.
One of his popular statements is, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson).
On the other side, Thomas Paine stands out due to his work in influencing Americans to push for independence. He wrote Common Sense, a masterpiece that fuelled the desire to stand up and claim what was rightfully Americans’, that is, independence. Common Sense spread like bushfire, taking only few months to have over 120,000 copies of it in the market. During this short time, many people read this book and concurred with its contents. Up to date, no single work has sold like Common Sense.
Response to Questions
In writing common Sense, Thomas Paine uses extensive imagery and argues his points out placidly such that rebellion appears justifiable. The first imagery is comparing America’s continued stay under Britain rule of law to babies feeding on milk.
The argument that America had thrived well under colonial rule did not make sense to Paine, making him argue that simply because a child is thriving under milk does not imply that she or he will die once fed on meat. Paine argues that America could prevail on her own because most of her profits benefited the colonialists. According to Paine, a time had come for America to undergo through the weaning process, leave ‘milk’ and chew ‘meat’.
Simply stated, a time had come for America to claim independence. Again, imagery comes in when Paine compares Americans to, “a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favour of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one” (Paine 106). The argument is that England’s constitution was unfit for Americans given its complexity.
Paine creates scenery of a group of people living in an isolated island without governance. He posits that,
In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought. A thousand motives will excite them thereto; the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same (Paine 97).
The issue here is that these people will ultimately form government based on laws that they make for themselves meaning that the law will represent them.
This imagery attacks Monarchy directly with Paine arguing that, “The first King should have been appointed either by lot, by election, or by usurpation” (Paine 119). Kings to follow would also be elected or follow these processes and this eliminates monarchy. If anything, monarchy and ruling through kings sprouts from sin. Paine goes ahead to quote the bible and show how Jews angered God by asking for a king.
Based on the evidence given in literature, it is clear that Paine did not overstate the conditions that prevailed in most English colonies before declaration of independence. It is natural for a reader to think that these conditions were overstated to achieve a certain theme; especially given the kind of a person that Paine was. Nevertheless, after scrutinizing the events, it becomes clear that change was needed immediately.
On top of the list is the call for Americans to pay taxes that would oversee the funding of Britain’s defence. This was tantamount to funding an enemy. Not at any time that Americans felt free under the Britain rule so in effect, they were ‘enemies’. There was no freewill on the part of Americans and hearing that they would fund the strengthening of the Britain was bad enough to fuel rebellion.
There were different acts that worsened the situation. The first act was, “Administration of Justice Act.” This called for trial of British soldiers in Britain; hence, justice perversion. The “Quartering Act” called for Americans to quarter for colonial soldiers. That was unpalatable.
To cap it all, “Massachusetts Government Act” took freedom from Americans meaning that they could not meet freely in towns. These conditions were inhuman considering that all these would come through increased taxes. Representation was very poor and it hurts to give up money that cannot be accounted for. Paine did not exaggerate these conditions.
Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine proposed similar form of government, Republicanism. Republicanism conformed to the ambitions and dreams of these two people. The quest to uphold human rights and freedom was so much in the hearts of these two men and only republicanism would offer a reprieve to their cries. Paine posits that,
The nearer any government approaches to a Republic, the less business there is for a king. For ’tis the republican and not the monarchical part of the Constitution of England which Englishmen glory in, viz. the liberty of choosing an House of Commons from out of their own body–and it is easy to see that when republican virtues fail, slavery ensue (Paine 116).
Monarchy was a thorn in Paine’s flesh; however, republicanism would offer an antidote. Naturally, people react to most burning issues in their lives and most probably, they will come up with mitigating measures to counter their problems.
Abolishment of monarchy and fostering human rights freedom topped the agenda of both Paine and Jefferson. Jefferson noted that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). This statement explains the reason why Jefferson chose republican form of governance; these human rights can only be established, and thrive better under republicanism.
Jefferson made one statements that explains the self-evident truths; that is, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson).
According to this statement, there are two truths. One, men are equal and that is the will, of God. The other truth compounds rights that come by the virtue of creation. God did not create people to be subjected to intimidation and colonialism; but to have freedom, live life to the fullest and pursue deeply held desires that come in form of dreams.
By writing this, Jefferson made the issue of liberation clear. Americans, by the virtue of being created by the same God who created Britons, had the right to be free. Unfortunately, they only possessed this right but never practised it. Nevertheless, Jefferson indicates that nothing was lost and Americans could still rise above intimidation and deception to claim what is rightfully theirs. Actually, this was Jefferson’s, “Americans, arise and shine, claim what is yours and make use of it; that is, freedom and liberty.
Jefferson voiced a number of concerns and grievances directing them to the King of Great Britain while addressing the readers of the document. They come under two categories, those focusing on administration/governance, and those affecting people directly. Concerning administration, Jefferson used “he has” referring to the King of Great Britain. For instance,
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation (Jefferson).
Concerning the second category, he used “for” to describe what the King had done to people at personal level. For example, “For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas” (Jefferson).
Things have changed so much that anyone trying to look rebellious is rebuked severely. People tend to be strong when fighting a common fight anticipating the same results.
During the times of Jefferson, people were oppressed by Britain rule and this was the only enemy they needed top beat to enjoy their freedom. Over the years, the United States of America has developed to unequalled levels. This vibrancy seems to have thrown people into complacency and they will do anything to ensure that the peaceful environment is sustained, bad policies notwithstanding.
It appears that common enemies and battles are over, and people are so engrossed in pursuing the most elusive, almost unattainable “American Dream”, that they have forgotten to address biting issues in society. In contemporary America, Paine and Jefferson’s words remain that; words. They are irrelevant because most probably, they were meant to bring independence and that is gone.
Conclusion
American history would be utterly incomplete without mentioning Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. These two contributed largely towards independence of this most powerful country in the planet. Paine used his persuasive skills, put them in writings and let Americans see what they could not see in the natural world.
He made them realize that it was self-deception to imagine that America was doing better under the colonial rule than how she would do as a sovereign country. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson gave his all in writing the declaration for independence in a way that painted rebellion as something that the Great Britain deserved from her colonies. Jefferson draws a lot from nature, quoting the will of God for every man to be free and enjoy the rights that come by merit of creation.
He gave detailed accounts why America could never continue staying under the savage rule of the Britain. Regrettably, the likes of Jefferson are gone not to come back. Probably, times have been so good for Americans to know that growth is continual and America has not reached the climax yet.
Works Cited
Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” The Want, Will, and Hopes of The People. 1776. Web.
Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense.” Republican Government. New Rochelle, N.Y: Thomas Paine National Historical Association, 1925.