England Being A Parent Country example essay topic

Although most colonists during the American Revolution believed in their "parent" country and its government, Thomas Paine changed their minds by questioning England being a parent country, by refuting England's government, and by preaching monarchy as a sin. First of all, Paine detested hearing England being called America's "parent" country. His arguments come from the treatment of the child by the parent. England was occupying America with troops. Fights would break out and the outcome would be child abuse, the parent beating up the child. Also, the taxation of America proved dependence upon the child for the survival of the family.

The parent should be out making the money and supporting the child, not vice versa. Tax revenue went straight to the king and he disbursed it however he saw fit, which usually meant into his pocket and not to the colonies Also, the size difference and distance proved England unfit to be called a "parent". Paine touches on biblical terms explaining that the distance between the countries is God's will for the two to be independent and separated from each other. Thousands of miles of ocean prove to be a huge natural barrier when trying to keep tabs on a child.

Also mentioned is the comparison in size of the two countries. Human nature is for the big to control the small. But in this case the small, England, is controlling the big, America. The thought of an island having supreme rule and parenting duties over a larger continent angers Paine. Few realized this size difference until he pointed it out. Then the colonists thought of it as being absurd.

England should be known as belonging to Europe and America should be known as belonging to itself. Others will argue that America needs to remain under English rule. "We may as well assert, that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat (Paine 83)". This quote is Paine's argument that America would flourish being independent of England. He even states that America might have been better off and thrived greater if England had played no part in American history. The first colonists escaped England in search of better lives.

Upon being in the colonies, they knew that they were still technically in England. Their will power alone would have, inevitably, brought along the revolution. English rule would not have lasted much longer. Second, Paine disapproved of the English government and its rule over America.

His first argument stems from the commons being a check on the king. The need for the king to be watched and checked on shows the ignorance of a monarchy. In this case, it would appear that the people put more trust in the commons than they do in their king. The checks and balance system proved time consuming and frustrating, seeing how the commons could block the king and the king could block the commons and so on. It was pure monotony. Paine again uses biblical references when he states that the Heathens first introduced government by kings.

He then claims, through Gideon and Samuel, that God "disapproves of government by kings (Paine 73)". These statements turned the heads of the religious minded colonists. Paine claims that the king, nor any of the king's sons had the right to rule over the people. God should be the only true ruler over His people. The colonists began to realize the sinful path of monarchies and quickly wanted out of the king's rule. Finally, Paine disapproved of the sheer complexity of the English government.

His argument comes straight from nature, "The more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered (Paine 68)". People want things to be easy and the English government was not one of those things. If something should have gone wrong within the government or country, the nation would have to wait a long while for the problem to be found. But then once it was found, it would have taken more time for the problem to have been fixed. This resulting chaos proved troublesome The colonists wanted to get away from this confusion that the English called a government. When the constitution was being laid out, the English were a good example of what not to be like.

Paine makes note of this when he states that "every political physician will advise a different medicine (Paine 68)". He also admits that this form of government was good. It was good in the dark ages of England, when it was being overrun with tyrannical kings and corrupt leaders. But the time this paper was written, that type of government was no longer needed and actually created more problems than were being solved.

The arguments in Common Sense proved pivotal to the American Revolution. There was not much support from the colonies to break apart from England. However, Paine's writings changed the way the colonists viewed England. By using religion in his arguments and examples, Paine had a great impact on the colonists.

His reasoning also helped the them see the tyranny of the English monarchy. But his determination and persistence was what inevitably turned the colonists against the British government. Political, religious, and economic independence from England became the new goal of the colonists. In the end, Common Sense brought about the birth of a new country. Paine, Thomas. Common Sense.

New York: Penguin Classics, 1986.