08/22/2026
Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, became a Patriot and argued for American independence soon after arriving in America from England. The early fighting and violence against colonists by the British Army showed Paine how little the crown seemed to care for American lives. For those people who wanted to give Britain another chance or who still remained loyal, Paine argued that things would only get worse under continued British rule.
He wrote, “But if you say, you can still pass the violations over, then I ask, Hath your house been burnt? Hath your property been destroyed before your face? Are your wife and children destitute of a bed to lie on, or bread to live on? Have you lost a parent or a child by their hands, and yourself the ruined and wretched survivor? If you have not, and can still shake hands with the murderers, then you are unworthy of the name of husband, father, friend, or lover, and whatever may be your rank or title in life, you have the heart of a coward, and the spirit of a sycophant.”
🖼️ Battle of Lexington, 1775, Encyclopedia Britannica
