Common Sense Defines A New Government

Thomas Paine, the son of a tenant farmer, sets fire to a Revolution!

January 10, 1776

Common Sense, a 47-page pamphlet that goes on to sell over 500,000 copies, is published anonymously on this date, but the author’s identity was soon found to be Thomas Paine, a British citizen by birth. Paine immigrated to the American Colonies in 1774 with the help of Benjamin Franklin, who had seen great potential in a man born to humb…