Introduction to Section 3 of "Common Sense"
In Sections 1 and 2 of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet, "Common Sense," Paine introduces his philosophy on what government should be, and denounces the current state of the English monarchy and constitution. Additionally, he suggests that the tradition of allowing leadership to be selected as a result of heredity is certainly not common sense.
Despite his numerous assertions and moderately cryptic language, the toil of a careful, logical thinker to decode Paine's works will reward the reader with an understanding of the deceptive manner in which Thomas Paine argues his primary points in this pamphlet.
The students of Fort Atkinson High School, class of 2010, in the American Literature 11 honors course, have labored over this work to provide readers with a thoughtful summary of the arguments and fallacies found within this document.
