Common Sense and the Turn to Independence (1775–1777)

Context and Shifting Loyalties

• In $1775$, reconciliation still seemed possible for most American colonials and, in fact, for most of the rebels. It was a fight for rights within the British Empire, but loyalty was increasingly strained as more people were drawn into the war.
• The shift: a war for rights within the British Empire as British subjects began to change; consider the conflict from the standpoint of King George III and the British government.
• The British response: this is a rebellion, a colonial insurgency that the Crown must put down. King George declared the colonial rebels outside of his protection; they were outlaws and traitors.
• Military escalation: the regulars were instructed to do whatever was necessary to suppress the rebellion, and the king hired thousands of German mercenaries to supplement the regulars.
• The turning point for many American colonials: a belief that they were fighting to revive British rights guaranteed by a benevolent imperial father (the king), followed by a sense of betrayal as imperial authority tightened.
• Symbolic anti-monarchism emerges: there was a massive outburst in $1775$ and $1776$ of anti-royal iconoclasm, described by some historians as symbolic regicides, i.e., symbolically putting the king to death.
• Actions of iconoclasm: crowds tore down public statues of the king, destroyed royal coats of arms on pubs, and removed royal portraits and memorabilia from homes.
• Example from the diary: in February of $1777$, Massachusetts revolutionary leader John Adams was in Baltimore and noted a public display of the king’s portrait upside down with an accompanying poem. Adams recorded the poem as:
  • "Behold the man who had it in his power to make a kingdom tremble and adore. Intoxicate with folly, see his head placed where the meanness of his subjects tread."
• The era’s atmosphere: symbolic anti-monarchism was widespread, though not limited to words alone.
• Violence against Loyalists: loyalists (colonists loyal to Britain) were attacked by revolutionary mobs—tarred and feathered, dragged through streets, beaten with clubs, and even hanged.
• Counter-violence: Loyalists publicly recanted loyalty to the king and pledged loyalty to the revolutionary cause; in places where revolutionaries held power, they attacked supporters of the revolution.
• The revolution was not merely ideological; it resembled a civil war in many areas, pitting neighbors and family members against each other and tearing apart town relationships.
• Overall trajectory: the widening conflict forced rebels to reconsider priorities. In $1775$ it was not yet an independence movement, and the events of Lexington and Concord did not by themselves declare independence; but imperial authority was being undone, and war was spreading.

The King’s Role and the Idea of Legitimacy

• The king was initially viewed as above Parliament for a long time, but this perception changed when he declared rebels traitors and waged war on the colonies.
• Paine’s later intervention would address these emotional ties to identity and reframe the legitimacy of the Crown.

Paine’s Common Sense and the Move Toward Independence

• In $January 1776$, a pamphlet circulated in Philadelphia and then throughout the colonies: Common Sense, authored by Thomas Paine, an immigrant from England.
• Paine’s central argument: independence; rejection of reconciliation within the Empire.
• Core claim: the problem was monarchy itself, not taxation or representation.
• Paine’s rhetorical strategy included direct, abrasive language aimed at dismantling emotional ties to the king:
  • He referred to King George’s distant ancestor as a "French bastard" and called King George himself the "royal brute of England".
  • The lecturer notes that Paine’s phrasing would have been scandalous in his time; modern listeners might compare it to provocative social media rhetoric about a public figure.
• The king as a symbol of the British nation: the king stood as the embodiment of national identity and was believed to be appointed by God to lead the British people.
• The shift in legitimacy: historically, grievances had been directed at Parliament, but Paine’s rhetoric reframed the problem as a critique of monarchy itself and the personal authority of the king.
• Paine’s goal: to break down emotional ties to the monarchy and legitimize breaking away from Britain.
• The tone and impact of Common Sense:
  • Paine’s language shifts the frame from grievances within the empire to the necessity of independence.
  • He makes a forceful, if controversial, argument that the king’s authority is no longer a divine endorsement for the British nation.
• The conclusion of this rhetorical turn: the king ceases to be protected as a godly figure and becomes a political symbol whose legitimacy is questioned; this fuels the move toward full independence.
• Final lines captured in the transcript emphasize Paine’s intent and effect: the king is no longer God’s anointed but a human symbol whom revolutionaries may reject as a monarch—"not god's anointed on earth anymore. He's just a royal brute. He's just an asshole."

Symbolic Regicide, Monarchy, and Identity

• The period’s anti-monarchical symbolism challenged the sanctity of the monarchy and the authority of the Crown.
• The anti-monarchist rhetoric and mob actions contributed to a broader redefinition of political legitimacy.
• Paine’s Common Sense provides a linguistic framework for this redefinition by foregrounding the monarchy as an institution open to critique and de-legitimation.

Key Takeaways and Connections

• The transition from a rights-focused struggle within the British Empire to a movement for full independence was gradual and influenced by both political events and persuasive rhetoric.
• The king’s status as a symbol of national identity made attacks on the monarchy a public assault on national belonging and legitimacy, intensifying revolutionary fervor.
• The pamphlet Common Sense served as a catalyst by reframing grievances and offering a clear, accessible argument for independence and for rejecting monarchy as an inadequate form of governance.
• The period illustrates how political violence, civil conflict, and rhetorical innovation can intertwine to reconfigure loyalties and political aims.

References to Foundational Principles and Real-World Relevance

• Enlightenment ideas underpin Paine’s critique of monarchy, especially the suspicion of inherited authority and emphasis on reason, rights, and self-government.
• The events highlight the practical consequences of political philosophy—how ideas about rights, representation, and sovereignty translate into action, including civil conflict and revolutionary rhetoric.
• The material threat to the Loyalists demonstrates the real cost of political disagreement and the fragility of social cohesion during revolutionary upheaval.

Important Names and Terms for Quick Review

• King George III
• Loyalists
• Regulars and mercenaries (German troops)
• Thomas Paine
• Common Sense
• Symbolic regicide
• Lexington and Concord
• John Adams
• January 1776; February 1777 (diary entry)

Dates and Chronology (Key Points in Chronological Order)

• $1775$: Reconciliation within the British Empire still seen as possible; war escalates; Loyalists and rebels polarized.
• $1775$-$1776$: Anti-royal iconoclasm and symbolic regicide; public displays of the king’s image attacked, portraits destroyed.
• $1777$: John Adams in Baltimore observes anti-monarchical sentiments (portrait upside down and associated poem).
• $January 1776$: Publication of Common Sense by Thomas Paine advocating independence and critiquing monarchy.

Notable Quotes (from Transcript)

• Behold the man who had it in his power to make a kingdom tremble and adore. Intoxicate with folly, see his head placed where the meanness of his subjects tread.
• The king is the symbol of the British nation. He is appointed by god to lead the British people. He is not god's anointed on earth anymore.
• He’s just a royal brute. He’s just an asshole.