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The American Crisis By Thomas Paine

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The American Crisis is a pamphlet series by 18th century Enlightenment philosopher and author Thomas Paine, originally published from 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolution. Often known as The American Crisis or simply The Crisis, there are 16 pamphlets in total. Thirteen numbered pamphlets were published between 1776 and 1777, with three additional pamphlets released between 1777 and 1783. The first of the pamphlets were published in Pennsylvania Journal. Paine signed the pamphlets with the pseudonym, "Common Sense."The pamphlets were contemporaneous with early parts of the American Revolution, during a time when colonists needed inspiring works. Paine, like many other politicians and scholars, knew that the Colonists weren 't going …show more content…

Paine sees the British political and military maneuvers in America as "impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God." Paine states that he believes God supports the American cause, "that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent".Paine takes great lengths to state that Americans do not lack force, but "a proper application of that force" - implying throughout that an extended war can lead only to defeat unless a stable army was composed not of militia but of trained professionals. But Paine maintains a positive view overall, hoping that this American crisis can be quickly resolved, "for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.The Crisis No. 1 starts out with the famous line "These are the times that try men 's souls," and goes on to talk about how Britain has no right to invade America, saying that it is a power belonging "only to God." He also says that "if being bound in that manner is not slavery, then there is not such a thing

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