Thomas Paine

The Crisis was a very interesting piece of writing to read, but it was very enjoyable to read. It was the type of reading that kept me engaged, and it was fairly easy to understand the purpose of the writing. One of the main topics that we covered in our AP History class was tyranny that the colonists had to deal with during the revolution, and this essay was written from the perspective of the victory over tyranny. While the document may seem a little emotional, most writing of the time period was partially based on emotion, it also provides many facts that back up the emotion, which is why the writing is definitely rationalist writing.

There were many passages of text that stuck in my mind while reading "The Crisis." One passage included
"to blind in all cases whatsoever." (Paine 134) This basically translates into the idea of slavery, and this statement came from an act passed by parliament. This really does seem like an emotional piece of evidence for the argument, but if the colonies have no say in what they do and can't see what the English are doing, they are basically slaves to another country. Thomas Paine used a very vivid comparison in his writing that accurately compared the King and his government to thieves (Paine 136). Basically, they were just that. The British placed taxes on the colonists as if they were citizens England, but at the same time reduced taxes in England. They were stealing money from the colonists, so their comparison was backed up with fact, which is a characteristic of Rationalist writing. The colonists realized how unfair Parliament was treating them.

Thomas Paine's writing style was proven so effective that the pamphlet not only was read to soldiers, but could have been read by any person who was fighting for the cause, not just physically. Some may have only seen his writing as an encouragement for the soldiers to continue their fight, but it was also a push to get people to join the fight. Another technique that Paine used was bringing religion into the writing, which some would say makes it more Puritan writing, but it still uses logic to back up assumptions. The simple quote "that God may bless you" makes it seem as if God is approving of the battle and is even on the side of the colonists (Paine 136). Obviously, that is simply not true, but Paine did a very good job of making his argument present the war as a war of sides, and he really made people want to join the cause.

As with many writers of the time period, Paine obviously wanted to create a group of people who felt strongly for the revolution and wanted to help make a difference. His writing in "The Crisis" was a clear picture of his goal to do so. I believe that the crisis was a pamphlet that appealed to many different people of the time, and it was probably a very effective piece of writing for the time.

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.