Paine's immensely popular and influential pamphlet Common Sense helped inspire the American colonists. Of Paine John Adams said, "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." The Rights of Man" was in part a defense of the French Revolution.
"Part of Paine's work was to render complex ideas intelligible to average readers of the day, with clear, concise writing unlike the formal, learned style favored by many of Paine's contemporaries." (Wikipedia.)

Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

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Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution, and became an immediate sensation.
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It was sold and...

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775-76 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Written in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution, and became an immediate sensation. Common Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which before the pamphlet had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration....

From the American Martin Luther, Paine questions organized religion and the basic beliefs of Christianity. Paine analyzes the role of church and religion in the government and questions what is an appropriate role, if any.

The common Sens is a pamphlet by Thomas Paine published for the first time without the author's name January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Paine has benefited during its drafting, comments Benjamin Rush who gave him the title. The denunciation of the British administration in Common Sense has enjoyed immense popularity that helped foment the American Revolution. For the historian Howard Zinn, "it was the first vigorous defense of the idea of independence in terms that could be understood by any person who can read." The second edition was quickly followed by a third edition, with...

Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Paine wrote it with editorial feedback from Benjamin Rush, who came up with the title. The document denounced British rule and, through its immense popularity, contributed to stimulating the American Revolution. The second edition was published soon thereafter. A third edition, with an accounting of the worth of the British navy, an expanded appendix, and a response to criticism by the Quakers, was published on February 14, 1776.

The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a work written by English and American political activist Thomas Paine. It follows in the tradition of eighteenth-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible. Originally distributed as unbound pamphlets, it was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807. It was a best-seller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. British audiences, however, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French Revolution, received it...

Thomas Paine's original Common Sense is required reading in the pursuit of a more robust citizenry. His words are as relevant to us today, as they were when they formed part of the literature that fomented the desire among the inhabitants of the new world. Our rights, our freedoms and our ideals entwine to be come the thread that weaves the fabric of this nation. Paine's words remind us of that.