THE CRISIS
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and
sunshine patriot, will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country,
but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
Tyranny is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the
harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap,
we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value....
Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, had declared that she has the
right, not only to tax, but “to bind us in all cases whatsoever”; if being bound in
that manner is not slavery, then there is not such a thing as slavery upon
earth… America will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign domination.
From Thomas Paine, The Crisis (1776)
1. Explain why Paine refers to the Revolutionary War as a “time that tried men’s souls?”
2. How does Paine describe some soldiers and some patriots in the first paragraph?
a. Why is Paine referring to some soldiers and patriots in this way?
3. What does Paine mean when he says “to bind us in all cases whatsoever” and why does he compare it to slavery?
4. What does Paine mean when he says, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly?”
5. What is Paine’s purpose for writing the Crisis?
6. The crisis is …..