46 Pages: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Piont to Independence

Sad to say, this history teacher had never read Thomas Paine's famed pamphlet "Common Sense" until three days ago. I came across a stand-alone printing of the book and was prepared to buy it when I found "46 Pages". The entire text of "Common Sense" (originally just 46 pages long, thus the title) is added as an appendix at the end of the book. I read the original text first and then proceeded to the first part of the book which consists of a short and pleasant combination of a biography of Paine, a history of "Common Sense" and little snippets of what several founders thought of the pamphlet at its author. This is a solid addition to any American history buff's collection.

In this book Scott Liell examines the impact that Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense" had on American sentiment and the move toward independence. Liell argues, and does so quite persuasively, that Common Sense is what finally tipped the balance in favor of those who wanted to break from Britain, and that the work was largely responsible for the enormous shift in sentiment that occurred between the Continental Congress's Olive Branch petition in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Common Sense was published in January, 1776, and met with immediate and unparalleled success. Liell's argument is that, before Common Sense, very few average people had a reason to want Independence, and that the pamphlet almost instantaneously gave them reason to want to break from Britain. Paine, he says, was bold enough to say things that even the ardent independents like John Adams were too timid to say, and that this helped turn the tide toward the ultimate decision to sever ties with the motherland. Liell makes a good case. In all our focus on men like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin, we often overlook the impact Paine and his writing had on the revolutionary cause. This is a very short book and a quick read, but it is very much worth the effort. The work is part biography, part criticism of the pamphlet, and flows along very nicely. While it is a quick read Liell manages to make a powerful argument, one that is certainly worth looking at for anyone interested in the period.

In the year 1763, at the height of the First British Empire, an American colonist's greatest pride was to be the subject of an English king. For fifteen years thereafter, the ill-conceived policies of imperial ministers strained the bonds linking colonies and parent country to breaking point. Yet, even after the bloodshed at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, those bonds stubbornly refused to break. By 1775, Americans were prepared to fight for their rights, and did so. But the great majority could not bring themselves to throw off the glittering mantle of the British Empire. King George III embodied the venerable heritage that was part of their identity, and few dared speak against their monarch in public--even the leaders of the Continental Congress. The enemies of America were "ministerial" enemies: a group of corrupt men in Whitehall had misled the king and stifled the complaints of his loyal American subjects. The king himself could not be a party to such injustice; if he could, everything they'd been taught to believe would be wrong. Willing satellites of the British sun for a century and a half, Americans now began to fear they were in captive orbit around a black hole. For most, it was simply too much to accept. In the early days of 1776, Thomas Paine published "Common Sense," severing the colonists' nostalgic ties to their ancestral nation with sudden finality. That a political pamphlet, in a matter of months, could profoundly change the course of history was stunning to those who witnessed its impact at first hand. It is no less so today. In "46 Pages," Scott Liell explains how and why an Englishman accomplished what no American of the time could. He explores the critical events in Paine's background and the evolution of his radical beliefs. He isolates the compelling lines of thought radiating from the groundbreaking pamphlet, and demonstrates how they utterly effaced colonists' lingering notions of their system of government. Countless Americans picked up "Common Sense" believing themselves the dutiful children of an enlightened and glorious monarch. They put it down again seething with anger and contempt. Paine showed the colonists that what they had taken as day was in fact night; but after reading his words, they did not lament the realization. Their former beliefs exposed as idolatry, they were willing to part with them at last. The author goes on to trace the powerful effects of "Common Sense" on its diverse audience: the Founding Fathers in Congress, the generals and common soldiers of the Continental Army, the average farmer in his field and tradesman in his shop. With force and clarity, he illustrates its decisive importance in convincing the colonists that their true interest, and best chance of securing their rights, lay in independence from Great Britain. Before "Common Sense," America had been fighting with one hand tied behind her back. From now on, her course would be clear, her energies focused.

I found Scott Liell's treatment of Thomas Paine's, Common Sense very engaging. Having recently become a citizen of the United States (formerly Canadian) I've turned to reading U.S. history with focus on the founding. This was my first encounter with Paine's work. It thrilled me! His words fired me up and I was astounded to see it's sudden and expansive impact on the thought of the day. Liell's books was very readable and inspired me to read everything I could get my hands on the Paine wrote. Bravo!

I bought "46 PAGES" largely because of the warm endorsements it received from David McCullough and some other historians that I respect. Truth be told when I first opened this book I did not know a whole lot about the importance of Common Sense to the pivotal events of 1776 and I knew hardly anything about the extraordinary man who took the risk of writing such an incendiary work at such a critical time. I am, therefore, immeasurably grateful to both Mr. Liell and "46 PAGES" for filling what was a pretty substantial gap in my understanding of just how this country was changed so quickly from a group of colonies determined to work out their differences with Britain through negotiation and resistance to a new nation hell-bent on revolution and independence. Even George Washington who was then leading the Continental Army fully expected the conflict to end in reconciliation and NEVER TALKED OF INDEPENDENCE UNTIL AFTER HE READ "COMMON SENSE." Kudos to Thomas Paine who aught to have a statue built to him in every major city in the US. And Kudos to Mr. Liell for telling this extraordinary untold story in such elegant and compelling prose.