Why is Common Sense by Thomas Paine so instumental in the success of the American Revolution?
359343
It was such a motivational book of patriotism, it encouraged those who before didn't believe in the revolution to being believing in it, and those who already did believe in it to believe in it even more. It was almost like a piece of libel, deriding the king and England while promoting this revolution as a duty the American people had to fulfill. It brought up insights that many didn't see before, and informed them.
747459
Well, that question is a very broad question, but I can give the general overview.  The newly created government in the 1780's is most likely reffering to the United States Constitution.  This Constitution was created due to the lack of federal rights in the Articles of Confederation.  The Articles did not allow Congress to tax or recieve soldiers from the independent states but rather ask for them.  The Articles were considered weak and they were essentially thrown out.  Whether this was legal or not is debatable.  The British also had a great impact on the Constitution because they "abused" the Americans during the revolution and before the revolution.  The Americans therefore, created the Bill of Rights were granted rights to the common man and the states.  Arguably, most of the Bill of Rights have some sort of connection to what the British had done before and during the revolution such as the Second Amendment.  The Second Amendment states, "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."  Many believe this was a response to the Quartering Act Britain established before the revolution.  Many Enlightenment ideas from Britain (like philsophers from John Locke) and other European countries greatly influenced the American government.  Ideas such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and others sparked from Europea.  The ideas of the individual "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" in the Declaration of Independence were derived from John Locke's "Life, Liberty, and Property."  Of course, the framers (of the Constitution) were very intelligent and substituted "property" with "Pursuit of Happiness" because they did not want to debate over owning slaves yet (for that would occur later in the Civil War).
709209
The American Revolution.\n\nTimeline of the American Revolution.\n\nhttp://theamericanrevolution.org/tline.asp\n\nhttp://www.cvesd.k12.ca.us/finney/paulvm/foyer.html\n\nLexington and Concord.\n\nApril 19, 1775. "The shot heard around the world" was the first battle of the American Revolution.\n\nhttp://www.earlyamerica.com/shot_heard.htm\n\nThe American Revolution, also known as the revolutionary war, was one of the most significant events in American history. Without it, the United States of America may not have come into existence. Read on and learn why it happened, and learn about key events of the revolution. Also check out our links to other sites on the American Revolution.\n\nhttp://theamericanrevolution.org/\n\nhttp://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/\n\nhttp://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/amrevol.html\n\nhttp://www.mce.k12tn.net/revolutionary_war/american_revolution.htm\n\nhttp://www.kidskonnect.com/AmericanRevolution/RevHome.html\n\nhttp://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/index.html\n\nhttp://www.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/depts/edu/textbooks/revolutionarylinks.html\n\nhttp://members.aol.com/TeacherNet/RevFAQ.html\n\nhttp://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/index.html\n\nThis site has everything..!!! Perfect for A P American History.\nAmerican History:  \n\nhttp://www.historyteacher.net/AHAP/AHAPCourseMainPage.htm\n\nhttp://www.historyteacher.net/AHAP/Weblinks/AHAP_Weblinks20.htm\n\nhttp://www.fordham.edu/halsall/\n\nHistory and Social Science.\n\nhttp://www.kidsolr.com/history/index.html\n\nGeneral Resources \n\nhttp://www.ushistory.org/\n\nGood luck.\n\nKevin, Liverpool, England.
820267
Such as this? \n\n\n"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom…must undergo the fatigue of supporting it." \n- Paine, Thomas  (1737-1809)
1134533
Your quote is from Alexis de Tocqueville, who was a member of the French Aristocracy and favored monarchy over democracy. He came to America shortly after the French Revolution to study democracy up close and personal. He didn't like it much, but why would he? He had it pretty good under the French monarchical system. At least understand what it is you're ranting about.
161695
Usually, revolutions come a bout from a radical sect of people would disagree with the status quo and rebel, sometimes very violently, against their government. The American Revolution stands apart from these because it was a conservative revolution, one that people rebel against their government for disrupting the status quo. \n\nThe first example of Britain altering the status quo in the area of politics was the Proclamation of 1763. This piece of legislature was created in response to Pontiac's rebellion. The Proclamation drew an imaginary line on the Appalachian crest and stated that Indians must remain to the west of that line and the colonists to the east. This angered the colonists because it put their western claims under royal control and severely limiting their expansion.
830652
The American victory at Saratoga was an extremely important one. It ended the British plan to separate New England from the other colonies. It also showed European nations that the new country might really be able to win its revolutionary war. This was something that France, especially, had wanted ever since being defeated by the British earlier in the French and Indian War. \n\nThe French government had been supplying the Americans secretly through the work of America's minister to France, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was popular with the French people and with French government officials. He helped gain French sympathy for the American cause. \n\nAfter the American victory at Saratoga, the French decided to enter the war on the American side. The government recognized American independence. The two nations signed military and political treaties. France and Britain were at war once again. The British immediately sent a message to America's Continental Congress. They offered to change everything so relations would be as they had been in 1773. The Americans rejected the offer. The war would be fought to the end. \n\nIn 1779 Spain entered the war against the British. And the next year, the British were also fighting the Dutch to stop their trade with America. The French sent gunpowder, soldiers, officers, and ships to the Americans. However, neither side made much progress in the war for the next two years
1126151
It sounds like it means don't overexamine things (level downward to our dullest perception) and use common sense.  Something like that.\n\nEverybody does need common sense though, if you think about it.  No matter how much higher education you have, if you don't have any common sense, you might be worse off than an auto mechanic who has common sense.  A business man with all of these degrees making choices without using common sense is a disaster waiting to happen.
183100
Most laws are based on common sense!
390478
The ancient Greeks, who invented democracy, had a philosopher who said." every government tends to fail by excess of its own basic principle". I cannot recall his name.\n\nThe USA was an experiment in government modeled partly on ancient Greece as revealed to europeans again during the renaissance when monks found old greek teachings and lore in Muslim libraries during the crusades that were translated and taken to Europe. This ended the dark ages in Europe.\nAlso the USA copied some native American government models.\nThe basic principle of USA is democracy rather than Monarchy, so it is this very aspect of our own government that threatens to topple it. Certainly it is made worse by ignorant masses that vote, but it is the power to vote that makes this ignorance dangerous. Not the ignorance per se.\nIf USA were an enlightened dictatorship, then this would not be a problem as the wise and kind ruler would protect the idiots from themselves.\nBut we let anyone vote. They need not own property, or be educated,or even be literate. They can still vote at age 18. This has made the gathering of the votes of morons a big business. This democratic system will be the undoing of USA as the morons are led to the slaughter by the evil geniuses that manipulate them and eventually will enslave them. Part of the con is to make working for the man a moral obligation (ha ha) Then paying taxes to a corrupt government becomes a growing legal obligation. Then obeying religious leaders and tithing. The rest is like taking candy away from a baby. The only reason the trap is not yet sprung is because evil factions are still fighting over the slaves. Once they end their war or have a truce, USA and all its freedoms is doomed.\nOH YEAH, they also do not want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg so it is better to let the fools think they are free as long as possible. We dont want no revolution! First thing to do is to distract them with drugs, TV and false issues to divide them. Then ruin the schools so nobody will ever get smart enough to see what is happening. It is really easy and almost done. so long suckers!
1147090
Because common sense isn't common.\nAND not everyones version of it is the same.
638898
The flexibility of the Constitution was used argument by some of the key architects for its passage.  I highly recommend that you get a copy of the Federalist Papers, a series of articles written under by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.  \n\nThe entire purpose of The Federalist Papers  was to gain popular support for the then-proposed Constitution. Some would call it the most significant public-relations campaign in history; it is, in fact, studied in many public relations classes as a prime example of how to conduct a successful campaign.
214531
Lexington and Concord. Its basically a phrase that meant the start of the American Revolutionary War
690193
While egoist isn't really wrong, I wouldn't put it down on a Social Studies test.\n\nThe Declaration of Independence was a political manifesto about the rights of men, and the right of the people to select their own form of government. Much of the document was a list of grievances against George III, the King of England, and Parliament, which had denied many rights to American colonists.\n\nThat you can write on a history exam.
991672
Instead of being like everyone else and grab a copy of a history book or look the answer up on the Internet and copying it word for word, let me sum it up for you in a way that if you are writing a report you can use in the info without the plagiarism.\nNow as to your question... The American Revolution was to escape  prosecution from "Mother England". Out forefathers wanted the right to have their own religious beliefs, be free from taxes from England and to create a country of our own with our own laws and government. To create a government for the people and to take power away from one person(a king) and give it to many people so that we wouldn't have to live under the beliefs of one person and one person alone.\nHope this helps
504810
A difficult question.\n\nI do notice that a lot of the public response that I heard or read (especially in letters to the editor) seemed to indicate that most Americans don't understand that our constitution gives anyone who is physically present inside our borders, whether or not a citizen, the right to peacefully assemble and to express their opinion. \n\nMoreover, they further fail to understand that our Founding fathers regarded such expressions of divergent opinion to be not merely things to be tolerated but a positive good that makes a valuable contribution to public understanding of issues.\n\nThere has always been a streak of nativist bigotry in America. They even had a party of their own back in the 19th century which was popularly called the "Know Nothings." I see from some of the answers here that, sadly, they live on.
984168
John Hancock was one of the leading men that spurred on the American Revolution. I looked at a couple of links, but the one below is short and concise and speaks directly with details regarding most of his patriotic activities (if you can get a copy of his speech after the Boston Massacre - that is what really brought him to the attention of the public at-large).