A Little Book Called 'Common Sense'

In January 1776, a writer named Thomas Paine printed a small 47-page pamphlet in Philadelphia and called it 'Common Sense.'

He wrote in plain, simple words that regular people could understand — not fancy government talk.

His big idea was that it just didn't make sense for a big continent like America to be ruled by a small island far across the sea.

The little pamphlet spread like wildfire — about 120,000 copies were sold in just a few months, when the colonies only had about 2.5 million people.

By the summer, so many colonists agreed with Paine that the leaders in Philadelphia felt brave enough to declare independence.