Thomas Paine’s Common Sense Sources
Thomas Paine. Common Sense. Reprint Edition: February 14, 1776.
Thomas Paine. African Slavery in America In The Writings of Thomas Paine Volume I. March 8, 1775. Ed. Moncure Daniel Conway.
On Paine meeting Benjamin Franklin in London and Franklin Encouraging Him to Emigrate to America:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 26 – 28.
On the Founding Fathers Still Seeking Reconciliation with Britain in early 1776, despite several battles having already been fought:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 16.
Thomas Jefferson. Letter to John Randolph, November 29, 1775. Founders Online, National Archives. last modified June 13, 2018. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 1, 1760–1776, ed. Julian P. Boyd. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950, pp. 268–270.]
On why Common Sense was so Impactful:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 41 – 42
John Keane. Tom Paine: A Political Life. Grove Press. (September 1, 2018). pg. 112 - 114
On the idea that Paine may have chosen not to call for an end to slavery in Common Sense out of fear his arguments for independence would be disregarded:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 49
On Common Sense’s Sales Figures:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 42 – 43
John Keane. Tom Paine: A Political Life. Grove Press. (September 1, 2018). pg. 108 - 110
On Common Sense’s Impact on Public Sentiment:
Harvey J. Kaye. Thomas Paine and the Promise of America: A History & Biography. Hill and Wang; Reprint edition (April 15, 2007). pg. 50 - 51, 54 – 55
John Keane. Tom Paine: A Political Life. Grove Press. (September 1, 2018). pg. 110 – 112, 123 – 124, 128
On George Washington’s Description of Common Sense as “sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning”:
See George Washington’s Letter to Joseph Reed in Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed Volume I. Lindsay and Blakiston. (December 31, 1847) Pg. 123 - 125