ABSTRACT

The transformation unfolded through a series of publications produced by political dissidents. These wordsmiths created the mindset that allowed for political and social revolution—as well as armed conflict. The most decisive phase of the pro-revolution media campaign began after armed hostilities had broken out in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 and was led by the most important writer of the colonial era, Tom Paine. In January 1776, Paine wrote the material that secured him fame as a revolutionary writer. Common Sense evolved after a friend urged him to write an essay on the future of the American colonies "beyond the ordinary short and cold address of newspaper publication." Others had offered political and economic arguments, but Paine advocated nothing short of social revolution. Despite Paine's singular contribution to the revolutionary cause, his work as an inspirational writer hadn't yet ended.