Reflection Blog: Crisis, No. 1

Thomas Paine is probably one of the greatest and most influential writers of the revolutionary times. He wrote Common Sense, which sparked a revolutionary flame in a massive amount of colonists. He represented the Rationalism Period because he was not just basing his ideas off of faulty logic and improvable ideas. He cited religious works only to better express his opinions. Paine used logic as a persuasion to his fellow Americans, and his great influence was a strong catalyst for many people to fight for their independence.
Paine obviously wrote The Crisis No. 1 for all people in America. He says “I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this State or that State, but on every State” (Paine 136). He is saying that this revolution will not work unless everybody strives for it together. He also calls on everybody, and he says that it is better to be too prepared than not prepared enough (Paine 135). By this he means that they need everybody in America to work together because if they do not it is possible that they will be defeated. Paine uses logic to uphold his opinion throughout the story also. He mentions that the Stamp Act has been repealed, but it has been replaced by the Intolerable Act (Paine 134). This act gives Britain the ability to “bind us [Americans] in all cases” (Paine 134). Britain now has an unnecessarily large amount of power over the colonies, and they cannot take it. The most moving part of this work is when Paine brings up the Declaratory Act again at the end. He says that if “a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me or those that are in it and to bind me in all cases whatsoever… Am I to suffer it?” (Paine 136) Paine is saying that the British have given themselves the right to kill colonists and burn their property, along with many other “intolerable” acts, and they should not allow them to continue this. He says that if they keep this Act in place then the colonists will not be able to suffer it anymore. Nobody has the right to invade these people’s homes, kill them, and take their property. It is simply unjust, excruciating, and undesirable. He is basically fighting for his fellow men, and speaking the things that they are thinking but cannot say. Paine is always using logic and examples to support what he says. He starts this off by saying that “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered” (Paine 134). He is initially telling people that the task ahead of them is not easy, but he says “the harder the conflict, the glorious the triumph” (Paine 134). In the end it will all be worth it if they can stop the tyranny of Britain. The only problem with this is whether the king truly was a tyrant. It is true that he had certain powers, but there is more than one definition of a tyrant. Either way the king could probably be considered a tyrant because he had unjust taxes where the colonists were not represented in government, he could appoint friends high positions in both Britain and America, and they were basically taking advantage of America with the Quartering, Declaratory, and other Acts. Thomas Paine is a good representation of the Rationalism period because he was a man of reason and logical persuasion to the point that he could influence people to start a revolution.

Paine, Thomas. "The Crisis, No. 1." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 134-136. Print.