Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence marked the birth of the United States. But two essays of that era appealed even more directly to Americans’ feelings.
In January 1776, Thomas Paine ― a recent immigrant to America ― published Common Sense. His straightforward argument upended the fraud of monarchy and dismantled the idea of aristocratic privilege that had dominated the world for centuries.
Paine’s words convinced Americans that the king had no divine right to rule them―they could rule themselves. He turned a rebellion over taxes and representation into a true revolution.
Having inspired patriots to declare their independence, Paine enlisted as a militia private. He saw the army under George Washington suffer grievous defeats.
He slogged through the mud with retreating troops to Pennsylvania. There, he wrote The American Crisis, the most stirring rallying cry in our history.
It began: “These are the times that try men’s souls….” With Paine’s words ringing in their ears, Washington and his men crossed the Delaware River and defeated the enemy at Trenton.
The battle reversed the fortunes of the campaign and helped win the Revolution itself. A tribute to the Revolution’s 250th Anniversary, regular New York Almanack contributor Jack Kelly’s Tom Paine’s War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time (St. Martin’s Press, 2006), is a enlightening and highly-readable exploration of our nation’s birth.
This is a story of the power of words ― and the power of belief ― and how both speak as well to America’s current crisis.
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