Thomas Paine

Common Sense: Thomas Paine's Historical Essays Advocating Independence in the American Revolution and Asserting Human Rights and Equ

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine sparked the fire that turned into the American Revolution by starting with "These are the times that try men's souls." His words solidified a nation to believe that freedom was worth fighting for and that diplomacy had been exhausted, leaving no other recourse than war. It presented many unique ideas of the time such as questioning the fairness of a hereditary kingship and the overbearing nature of treating a colony as a revenue source that can be abused. No other book in American history has been read by a larger part of the population at the time of its release than Common Sense, arguably making it the most influential book on the United States.