By SSG Rich Stowell
Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
I’ve often thought regarding those who say it, sometimes mindlessly, that they never saw an Apache Helicopter light up a target.
But in reflecting on the case of American Independence, I have to be more mindful myself. In the latter half of 1775, American militia and an Army raised by the Continental Congress defied the world’s most powerful military. Patriots had strategic successes in land battles at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Montreal, Quebec, and Norfolk.
Yet, by the time 1776 rolled around, Americans were unable to achieve their goals militarily, and many patriots were still unsure about the cause of independence from the British Crown.
Enter Thomas Paine, an immigrant whose prose “accomplished what even the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord could not—a wholesale annihilation of the emotional and intellectual ties that bound the American colonists to the British Crown and country."[i]
Many scholars believe that Paine’s 49-page pamphlet Common Sense was the single greatest contributor to the cause of independence.
Thomas Jefferson wrote six years after the event, "It is well known, that in July of 1775, a separation from Great Britain and the establishment of a republican government had never entered into any person’s head."
Paine was born in the small town of Thetford, England to a modest family. During his 37 years in England, among other professional pursuits, he sold his literary talents to politicians and political organizations; for a time he was a one-man political ad agency in London.
Common Sense was a commissioned work. Its financial backer, Dr. Benjamin Rush, along with Ben Franklin and Samuel Adams, wanted desperately to convince their countrymen that independence was the most desirable outcome of the decade-long political crisis.
A wealthy young Philadelphia doctor, Rush met Paine in the bookstore of Paine's then boss at the Pennsylvania Magazine. Rush proposed that the newcomer to the colonies write a tract that shed light on the subject of independence and "dispel the irrational fears that attended the idea in the minds of many of their fellow citizens."[ii]
Paine ended up writing a scathing pamphlet that went far beyond merely casting a more favorable light on separation. It openly advocated it, mocked monarchy, and shattered the delicate sensibilities that forbade casual use of the phrases, "independence" and "republicanism."
Common Sense achieved unprecedented circulation. In an era when an average newspaper reached only about 2,000 readers, Common Sense sold between 120,000 and 150,000 copies in its first three months of circulation. In the English language press, it went through 25 editions that year, and had been printed over half a million times by the end of 1776. Certainly, since each copy was read by more than one person, total readership was much higher.
Of course Common Sense wasn't universally praised. John Adams, most notably, thought Paine's rhetoric too inflammatory and feared it would cause undue "mischief."[i]. Even his firebrand cousin, Samuel, was hesitant to endorse it outright. But it induced a torrent of material in the various newspapers and magazines, letters and tracts either supporting or denouncing it, to which Paine responded in kind. In short, Common Sense breathed life and vigor into the debate over independence.
While Washington was struggling to keep his Army from collapsing, Paine brought public opinion around to Washington’s cause. Later that year, he wrote the first of a series of essays called, “The Crisis,” which Gen. Washington read to his beleaguered troops at Valley Forge.
So I continue to wonder. Is the pen mightier than the sword? As with both instruments, it depends upon who wields it.
Is the pen really mightier than the sword?
I’ve often thought regarding those who say it, sometimes mindlessly, that they never saw an Apache Helicopter light up a target.
But in reflecting on the case of American Independence, I have to be more mindful myself. In the latter half of 1775, American militia and an Army raised by the Continental Congress defied the world’s most powerful military. Patriots had strategic successes in land battles at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Montreal, Quebec, and Norfolk.
Enter Thomas Paine, an immigrant whose prose “accomplished what even the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord could not—a wholesale annihilation of the emotional and intellectual ties that bound the American colonists to the British Crown and country."[i]
Many scholars believe that Paine’s 49-page pamphlet Common Sense was the single greatest contributor to the cause of independence.
Thomas Jefferson wrote six years after the event, "It is well known, that in July of 1775, a separation from Great Britain and the establishment of a republican government had never entered into any person’s head."
Paine was born in the small town of Thetford, England to a modest family. During his 37 years in England, among other professional pursuits, he sold his literary talents to politicians and political organizations; for a time he was a one-man political ad agency in London.
Common Sense was a commissioned work. Its financial backer, Dr. Benjamin Rush, along with Ben Franklin and Samuel Adams, wanted desperately to convince their countrymen that independence was the most desirable outcome of the decade-long political crisis.
A wealthy young Philadelphia doctor, Rush met Paine in the bookstore of Paine's then boss at the Pennsylvania Magazine. Rush proposed that the newcomer to the colonies write a tract that shed light on the subject of independence and "dispel the irrational fears that attended the idea in the minds of many of their fellow citizens."[ii]Paine ended up writing a scathing pamphlet that went far beyond merely casting a more favorable light on separation. It openly advocated it, mocked monarchy, and shattered the delicate sensibilities that forbade casual use of the phrases, "independence" and "republicanism."
Common Sense achieved unprecedented circulation. In an era when an average newspaper reached only about 2,000 readers, Common Sense sold between 120,000 and 150,000 copies in its first three months of circulation. In the English language press, it went through 25 editions that year, and had been printed over half a million times by the end of 1776. Certainly, since each copy was read by more than one person, total readership was much higher.
Of course Common Sense wasn't universally praised. John Adams, most notably, thought Paine's rhetoric too inflammatory and feared it would cause undue "mischief."[i]. Even his firebrand cousin, Samuel, was hesitant to endorse it outright. But it induced a torrent of material in the various newspapers and magazines, letters and tracts either supporting or denouncing it, to which Paine responded in kind. In short, Common Sense breathed life and vigor into the debate over independence.
While Washington was struggling to keep his Army from collapsing, Paine brought public opinion around to Washington’s cause. Later that year, he wrote the first of a series of essays called, “The Crisis,” which Gen. Washington read to his beleaguered troops at Valley Forge.
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: … Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated.Momentum began to turn as a localized rebellion turned into a full-scale insurgency, with the support of a majority of Britain’s American colonists. And that facts seems to owe a lot to a writer.
So I continue to wonder. Is the pen mightier than the sword? As with both instruments, it depends upon who wields it.
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