Common Sense

Published anonymously in 1776, six months before the Declaration of Independence was drafted, Thomas Paine's Common Sense was an incendiary call for America to revolt against British rule and set up an independent republican government.

His essay, published anonymously, was the very first to speak directly to a mass audience, going through more than fifty printings within the first year of its publication.

It is credited with turning millions to the cause of America's independence, and set out a vision of a just society in which an end to slavery and complete social equality would be upheld.