Thomas Paine Journal

Tanya Barragan
Scott Lankford
English 48A

Thomas Paine

11/15/11

AUTHOR’S QUOTE

“As Europe is our market for trade, we ought to form no partial connection with any part of it. It is the true interest of America to steer clear of European connections, which she never can do, while by her dependence on Britain, she is made the makeweight in the scale of British politics” (634)

INTERNET QUOTE

”Paine's political pamphlet brought the rising revolutionary sentiment into sharp focus by placing blame for the suffering of the colonies directly on the reigning British monarch, George III./ First and foremost, Common Sense advocated an immediate declaration of independence, postulating a special moral obligation of America to the rest of the world. Not long after publication, the spirit of Paine's argument found resonance in the American Declaration of Independence.”
http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/

SUMMARY

Thomas Paine writes in Common Sense, the politics behind America and Britain. But he also writes the truth in what lies behind the ties of America and every other country. He states the fact in which America is to be a free country, it would have to remain free from all; meaning any other country. He states how many Europeans came to a new land to find a new and better life and if they want to remain free, why would they want to interact with other countries; especially Europe in which they left the Old country for a better life, but especially with Britain. He sates on how America relies too much on Britain and other countries to help make a stronger country but says that they could still be strong without them.

YOUR IDEAS/REACTIONS/RESPONSES TO THE AUTHOR’S IDEAS

Some of the ideas that I got from Paine were that he wanted to state all facts about countries such as Europe and the pain and sufferings that it was going through. But what I also got was that many of these people that fled to America for a better life but were still relying on Europe; especially Britain for help in this new country. The idea from all this and from he stated, is why would people run from a country when in fact it needed help and was not doing good and what could it really do for the new country. I got that he was stating that would everything would remain the same if they did this and needed to fight for its own freedom. I reacted to Paine’s work as really good because he stated many good points and was trying to help people see and want better from what they already had left.

There are some great thoughts that I got from the Author’s ideas. The quote that I chose, tells in many words, exactly what Paine was trying to get across in Common Sense. As Paine tries to say that we should have no interaction what so ever with any part of Europe. He says this because doing trade or having any kind of business with them; is not moving on in which many Americans wanted to do; since they came from Europe. But Paine also states that no matter how hard we try to not have anything to do with Europe, we in fact have relied on them so much, that it would be hard not to do and still are falling into the Britain politics that many Europeans who came to America, were trying to get away from. My internet quote says all this and that Paine really wanted America to remove itself from Britain. I think in all, Paine was trying to say that for America to be a free country; it would have to free itself from all ties with Europe and America would have to find some way to do this and still be a string country. To not repeat what they came from and were running from.