“more from national pride than reason.” Paine contends that there is no reason to feel loyalty to Britain. He feels that all the actions of Britain are in its self-interest. He feels the colonies would not need defending if Britain would not bring its enemies to the colonies. There would not have been a French and Indian war because the colonies would not be enemies of the French. Paine believes that the protection that the British give to its colonies is the same protection a “shepherd gives to his sheep.” This supposes that the British Empire only cares about its colonies in North America because they supply raw materials and a market for manufactured goods. Paine concludes Common Sense by contending that the colonies have an opportunity to make a government the correct way. His argument is that forms of government such as Britain have formed themselves in the opposite order necessary for proper government. “First, they had a king, and then a form of government; whereas the articles or charter of government should be formed first, and men delegated to execute them afterwards.” He strongly urges the colonists to take advantage of their “present opportunity.” He calls them to, “begin government at the right end.”In The Declaration of Independence authored mainly by Thomas Jefferson many arguments are made for the right of the colonists to rebel. Among these arguments are the theories of consent of the governed, natural rights of man and self-evident truths. The natural rights of man are those given by God and cannot be taken away or even given up. By losing these rights a person would become less human. Some of these rights include “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” as named by Jefferson. Jefferson felt that the current state of affairs in the colonies did not allow for these rights to be realized. He listed the crimes committed by the Br...
