evidence: Who Was Thomas Paine and Why Did He Write 'Common Sense'? [...] "Paine witnessed it all, and thought, these people are ripe for a revolution," explains Harvey J. Kaye, author of Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. [...] - A strong central government was needed. Paine envisioned that the new nation would have a strong central government, with a constitution that protected individual rights, including freedom of religion. "A firm bargain and a right reckoning make long friends," he argued.