Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

Common Sense (1776)

The American Crisis is a collection of articles written by Thomas Paine during the American Revolutionary War. In 1776 Paine wrote Common Sense, an extremely popular and successful pamphlet arguing for Independence from England. The essays collected here constitute Paine’s ongoing support for an independent and self-governing America through the many severe crises of the Revolutionary War. General Washington found the first essay so inspiring, he ordered that it be read to the troops at Valley Forge.

• The American Crisis: December 23, 1776
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Jan. 13, 1777
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, April 19, 1777
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Sept. 12, 1777
• The American Crisis: Lancaster, March 21, 1778
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Oct. 20, 1778.
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Nov. 21, 1778
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, March, 1780
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Oct. 4, 1780
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, March 5, 1782
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia May 31, 1782
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, Oct. 29, 1782
• The American Crisis: Philadelphia, April 19, 1783

The Rights of Man (1791-1792)

Age of Reason (1795)