1 Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence Perhaps, the historical heritage of any country of the world has

some documents that are considered to be almost sacred and make the foundations for the country's independence. For the people of the United States, the Declaration of Independence is probably the most important historical document. Nowadays, it is viewed as the greatest American manifesto, the symbol of freedom of this country, and the bearer of the people's eternal memory of the founding fathers' deeds. However, no one should forget about some other important documents that gave rise to the formation of the United States as an independent country. Common Sense written by Thomas Paine in early 1776 is one of these fundamental documents in the history of the U.S. Comparing the Declaration of Independence and Common Sense, the conclusion can be drawn that Jefferson's text appeared as the natural result of the ideas and attitudes that were described by Thomas Paine in his pamphlet. The Declaration of Independence can viewed as the first legal step towards the thirteen states' independence. This manifesto represents the final set of reasons supporting the importance of the country's freedom from the King's power. In turn, Common Sense can be considered as a philosophical rationale for the future changes. At the same time, the work is devoid of any philosophical complications and ambiguity of meaning. Written by a regular poor migrant, this work addresses millions of ordinary Americans. Paine's literary style is simple and laconic, so that everyone can understand the author's message clearly. All these characteristics made the pamphlet become a part of American folklore that could be shared as a word of mouth among people and awaken their desire for freedom. "Thomas Paine, defying conventional wisdom, offered a powerful argument that independence was desirable, welldeserved, and within reach..." (Bernstein, 2009).

2 In his work, Paine pointed out several major and very clear explanations of the need to get rid of the royal patronage. First of all, such a small island as Britain could not rule a huge continent. Secondly, the population of America was composed of a variety of nationalities, so it could not be considered as entirely British. Thirdly, America became simply a resources supplier for the British Empire. Moreover, the distance between the countries made the British King's rule in America almost impossible. The conclusion was that Britain ruled the colonies for the sake of its own benefits only and did not take any interests of the colonists into account: "Until an independence is declared the continent will feel itself like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its necessity" (Paine, 1776). Summarizing the foregoing, I would like to admit that the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson is, in my opinion, a natural result of the protest energies accumulated in social consciousness of that time. In addition to the problem of the unfair tax regulations, this document declared a number of other reasons supporting the idea of the country's independence. Moreover, it established the basis for further recognition of freedom in all the spheres of life in America: "...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (U.S. Declaration Ind., 1776). All these ideas make the Declaration of Independence the most important document in U.S. history. However, I am also sure that Thomas Paine can be also put among the founding fathers of this country, because his work was the first essential document that articulated the ideas existing at the subconscious level of all the ordinary Americans' minds. The states would definitely gain their independence sooner or later, but it was

3 Paine's Common Sense that marked a crucial stage of the collapse of the British King's rule in America.

4 Works Cited Bernstein, Richard. The founding Fathers Reconsidered. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Archiving Early America. n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html>.