Letter from John Adams to William Tudor, 12 April 1776
Description:
Common Sense is published in Philadelphia in January 1776, launching a sensational public debate on American independence. Published anonymously, everyone from John Adams to Benjamin Franklin is named as the author. No matter the scribe, colonists eagerly devour the pamphlet's exposition on King George III and Parliament and their role in colonial dissent. Actually written by Englishman Thomas Paine, the treatise does not present any new or innovative political ideas, but explains the principal attitudes towards the King and independence in simple, everyday language. Within weeks, printers from Boston to Charleston are selling their own editions to an eager public. They sell an amazing 100,000 copies of the pamphlet in just a few months! As the colonies debate Paine's spirited prose, Adams himself comments on the document and his supposed authorship in letters to friends and family. From the Tudor-Adams Papers
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