evidence: Constitution 101 Resources 2.5 Primary Source: Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) [...] The following excerpts are from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Originally published in 1776, this pamphlet lays out Paine’s theory for why the American colonies should declare independence. One of the all-time American best sellers, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, exploded on the scene in January 1776, at a precarious moment when reconciliation with Great Britain seemed unlikely, yet, to many, independence still seemed unthinkable. In electric prose, Paine, a recent English immigrant, made a forceful case in defense of separation. On multiple scores, the pamphlet radiated a radical democratic spirit. In plain, unadorned writing, it appealed to the common capacities of all people to evaluate the case for independence. It left few traditional hierarchies untouched, meanwhile, nowhere more strikingly than its vigorous condemnation of the institution of monarchy, which Paine claimed was in fact an affront to God. Common Sense seized public opinion, propelling American colonists toward independence.