The decent people of our country are gravely oppressed by the combination, and as the King of England, in his own Right, supports the Parliament in what he calls Theirs, they have an undeniable right to enquire into both parties' claims and to reject either one's usurpation. Some authors have blurred the lines between society and government, making it difficult to tell the two apart. Government is created by our wickedness, whereas society is created by our desires. The former positively promotes happiness by combining our emotions, while the latter adversely restricts our vices. The first one was a patron, the latter one a judge. Our strength comes from our unity, not from our size, yet even so, the might of the entire planet may be repelled by our current numbers. It is interesting to consider how a race of men became so elevated above all others and distinct like a brand-new species. Our land force is already adequate, and we can't pretend to be oblivious to the fact that Britain would never let the construction of an American man of war as long as the continent was under her control in terms of naval affairs. Denial of the British parliament's authority "to bind the colonies in all instances whatsoever" was one of the finest expressions of romantic unity that America has ever known.
Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary who lived from February 9, 1737, to June 8, 1809. He wrote The American Crisis (1776–1783) and Common Sense (1776–1783), two of the most important pamphlets at the outset of the American Revolution. He also contributed to the Patriots' 1776 decision to declare their hitherto unpopular goal of independence from Great Britain. His opinions were consistent with Enlightenment values for universal human rights. In an era before compulsory schooling, he attended Thetford Grammar School (1744–1749). He became his father's apprentice when he was 13 years old. After finishing his apprenticeship, Paine enlisted at the age of 19 and served for a short time as a privateer before returning to Britain in 1759. He opened a store in Sandwich, Kent, after becoming a master staymaker there. Paine traveled from France to the United States in 1802, or maybe 1803, paying for the passage of Marguerite Brazier, the wife of Thomas Bonneville, as well as the couple's three boys, Benjamin, Louis, and Thomas, for whom Paine served as godfather. In the early years of the Second Great Awakening, a period of intense political partisanship, Paine returned to the United States.
