Episode Details

250 years ago tomorrow, a relatively unknown colonist swept up in revolutionary fever, Thomas Paine, wrote and published a pamphlet called Common Sense, criticizing King George III of England. The document would be one of the most sold and circulated written works published in America, before or after independence, and helped tip the scales for Independence from Great Britain, which was realized just 6 months later. For the anniversary, Julie Silverbrook, vice president of Civic Education at the National Constitution Center, reflects on the legacy and present implications of "Common Sense."