Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Psychology None Provided17 None Provided17 Man knows no Master save creating HEAVEN, Or those whom Choice and common Good ordain. Thomson. Throughout the course of human civilization, monarchial governments have reigned supreme, commonly forcing their particular subjects to subscribe to a harsh and oppressive doctrine of “divine” order. From the ancient and rather fruitful ruling of King Tutankhamun, to the unbearable monarchs witnessed throughout Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages, this powerful presence of kings and queens has made a lasting impression on their empire’s current customs and traditions. Consequently, the impact made on the British Colonies in North America by England’s ruthless leaders during the eighteenth century have come to epitomize this notion of imperial rule. However, as The Crown and his governors continually subjected the colonists to numerous and unjustified decrees of tyranny, countless Americans came to realize that independence from England was to be their only savior. While numerous rebellions and riots broke out due to colonial disgust with the mother country, others used various forms of media to voice their opposition towards King William and his totalitarian dogma. Thomas Paine, an English born reformist, sensed these injustices and evils of monarchy thus prompting him to draft one of the most revolutionary pieces of American literature, Common Sense. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the term common sense “…designates the sum of original principles found in all normal minds and the ability to judge and reason in accordance with those principles.” Commensurately, when Paine adopted this title for his work, he believed he was speaking on behalf of all of the “normal minds” in the colonies that were being subjugated to the King’s tyrannical rule. In addition, he understood the phrase common sense to be an appropriate and applicable term dealing with the “original principles” these men and women 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 common sense was the only entity needed in order to recognize and correct the social atrocities infringed upon them on a daily basis. The most common of these “original principles” would most likely be the colonial attitude towards specific religious convictions. During the mid to late eighteenth century, widespread religious knowledge and practice formed many of the social bonds manifested by the early colonists. In Common Sense, Paine inserted into much of his text an explanation as to why absolute monarchy should not be tolerated. For instance, he asserts that hereditary succession, as seen in England’s royal government, cannot be permitted due to the laws of god and nature. “For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever…” Also, Paine explains that when the world was pure and free from totalitarian rule, the absence of kings also meant the absence of wars. In such countries as Switzerland and Holland who have remained neutral through the ages and who have not had dictatorial kings, their countries have consequently survived without wars and suffering. However, when kings do take command of their individual regions, “…it is the pride of kings which throw mankind into confusion.” Hence, Paine utilizes his knowledge of religion and the colonists’ knowledge of religion and the scriptures to persuade these people that only common sense need be employed to realize that even their own religious doctrine condemns the practice of monarchial leadership. Besides the use of religion embodied in his essay, Thomas Paine also includes the elements of nature to illustrate why Common Sense is an appropriate title for his work. By stating that “Small islands not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island,” Paine’s logic is uncanny. Therefore, this assertion can be construed as common sense when studied and comprehended by the mass of society. Another way in which nature has decided that America should be independent of British rule is the simple, common sense fact that the two bodies of land are separated by thousands of miles of ocean. How can any “parent country” possibly govern its colonial establishments if they are more than three thousand miles apart? In two words, they cannot. That being said, Paine makes one more rather humorous remark as to why nature has decided that monarchial government is relatively evil. He testifies that nature disapproves of it, “…otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion. In this case, the “lion” represents the king of England or any other sovereign for that matter. As one can see, religion and nature both play an important role in Paine’s argument for independence. Furthermore, these two concepts offer integral support as to why Thomas Paine titled his essay Common Sense. He hopes that his “normal minded” colonists will attempt to use their “ability to judge and reason” in accordance to the aforementioned “original principles” illustrated by religion and nature. As observed in the essay, his attitudes towards government and society are quite clear and discernible. It was his aspiration that the essay would spark his fellow colonists into taking a more revolutionary position against a government that had exploited and demoralized their existence as free human Bibliography: Word Count: 901
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