Common Sense was a pamphlet by Thomas Paine first published in full in 1776, arguing for American independence from Great Britain.
Bibliographic notesCommon Sense was a colonial best-seller, and went through many editions in a short time period, some sanctioned by the author, and some not. Early editions did not identify the author. The publishers of some early British editions were compelled to censor some passages critical of the king and Parliament.
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Additions to Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America (by various authors other than Thomas Paine; London: Reprinted for J. Almon, 1776)
- Online books about Common Sense
- Wikipedia article about Common Sense
- Online books by or about Thomas Paine
- Online books filed under these subjects:
- Full catalog description
- Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
- Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America (Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1776), by Thomas Paine
- Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America (John Adams Library copy, with some late pages damaged; second edition; Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1776), by Thomas Paine (multiple formats at archive.org)
- Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America (third edition "with the whole appendix"; Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1776), by Thomas Paine (HTML at Evans TCP)
- Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, on the Following Interesting Subjects: I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution; II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession; III. Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs; IV. Of the Present Ability of America, With Some Miscellaneous Reflections (sixth edition, reprinted from a Philadelphia edition; Providence, RI: J. Carter, 1776), by Thomas Paine (multiple formats at archive.org)
These are arranged by language, and then approximately by date of first publication.
- Le Sens-Commun: Ouvrage Adressé aux Américains (in French; Paris: Gueffier, 1791), by Thomas Paine, trans. by A.-G. Labaume (multiple formats at archive.org)
- Le Sens Commun, Adressé aux Habitans de l'Amérique (in French; Paris: Buisson, 1793), by Thomas Paine (page images at HathiTrust)
- Le Sens Commun, Adressé aux Habitans de l'Amérique (anonymous French translation; Paris: Imp. de Poulet, 1822), by Thomas Paine (page images at HathiTrust)
- Reflecciones Politicas Escritas Bajo el Titulo de Instinto Comun (abridged Spanish translation of Common Sense; Lima: En la Imprenta de Rio, 1821), by Thomas Paine, trans. by Anselmo Nateiu (multiple formats at archive.org)
- Common Sense (Library of Liberal Classics edition, with a preliminary explanatory note; New York: P. Eckler Pub. Co., 1922), by Thomas Paine (page images at HathiTrust; US access only)
- Look for editions of this book at your library, or elsewhere.