2/11 Reading Assignment. Read Chapter 3 of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense"
1. Why must the United States separate from Great Britain? Give every reason
2. What does he mean that now is the "seed time of continental union, faith and honor"?
3. Since "friendship . . . hath failed," then what is the alternative? What does Paine mean by
"friendship"? What does that look like?
4. When he says, "Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument"? What is the
argument and what is his refutation of it? He cites cases of Turkey, France and Spain for a
reason.
5. What does he define as the behavior of "brutes" and "savages"? When he says that "even they
do not devour their young"? We know he is not referring literally to eating offspring.
6. He is sending a very powerful message when raising Holland, Germany, Sweden and "all
Europeans meeting in America." There's a loud chord that he is striking. What is it?
7. What is the "interest of all Europe"? What is in the interest of America? Important concepts:
dependence ("dependance"), alliances, markets for trade, imports/exports, impact of war.
Examples: corn; England's wars.
8. What does he mean that "'the present constitution' is merely temporary"?
9. Paine wishes to "awaken us from fatal and unmanly slumbers." What specifically is "fatal"?
What is an "unmanly slumber"?
10. Why does he cite the cases of Denmark and Sweden?
11. What point does he make in citing the personal impact of April 1775?
12. What is wrong with the laws made under "the present constitution"? How do they make
Americans "enslaved"? I'm interested in the statement of principle here.
13. What is his response to those who "will say [the king] has a negative in England; the people
there can make no laws without his consent"? Again, interested in the statement of principle
here.
14. A hugely important, empirical statement he makes about "republics" and "monarchical
governments" in Europe.
15. His detailed, constitutional prescription for independent America (followed by a citation of
Dragonetti) is simply extraordinary. What key political principles can we draw from it?
16. What he means by a "government of our own is our natural right"? What political principle is
being articulated here?