andwomen fostered as well as their “ability to judge and reason” within this ideology.Through his writing, Paine desperately hoped to prove to his fellow man that commonsense was the only entity needed in order to recognize and correct the social atrocitiesinfringed upon them on a daily basis. The most common of these “original principles”would most likely be the colonial attitude towards specific religious convictions. Duringthe mid to late eighteenth century, widespread religious knowledge and practice formedmany of the social bonds manifested by the early colonists. In Common Sense, Paineinserted into much of his text an explanation as to why absolute monarchy should not betolerated. For instance, he asserts that hereditary succession, as seen in England’s royalgovernment, cannot be permitted due to the laws of god and nature. “For all men beingoriginally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetualpreference to all others for ever…” Also, Paine explains that when the world was pureand free from totalitarian rule, the absence of kings also meant the absence of wars. Insuch countries as Switzerland and Holland who have remained neutral through the agesand who have not had dictatorial kings, their countries have consequently survivedwithout wars and suffering. However, when kings do take command of their individualregions, “…it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion.” Hence, Paineutilizes his knowledge of religion and the colonists’ knowledge of religion and thescriptures to persuade these people that only common sense need be employed to realizethat even their own religious doctrine condemns the practice of monarchial leadership.Besides the use of religion embodied in his essay, Thomas Paine also includes theelements of nature to illustrate why Common Sense is an appropriate title for his work.By stating that &...
