Paine Letter a Letter in Thesis

The Sons of Liberty, a clandestine network of individuals dedicated to the freedom of enterprise and the fairness of government that the British Crown once stood as the protector of, have caused enough damage with their secretive acts to both the Crown and the forces here that oppose it. Would it not be better to move their actions from the shadows they have been forced into do to the label of sedition they have been branded with, and allow for the airing of the legitimate grievances and concerns of the people inhabiting these several colonies? Would not the Sons of Liberty, and indeed all Sons of Man, be better served by an open declaration of our independence from the Crown rather than continued unnecessary belligerence?

It has been well argued by the loyalists here that to denounce the King and his Crown as authority figures here would be a matter of great and grave dishonor, even tantamount to heresy. But is it not the greater dishonor -- the greater heresy, even -- to allow for the unjust and un-Godly rule of a man so far removed from his people, both geographically and insofar as our divided interests? I understand that oaths of allegiance have been sworn to the King, and that to break these is a serious matter indeed. The King, however, has sworn to serve his people, and this King has failed to live up to his oaths.It is only right that he be deposed, if only within the borders of these far flung colonies.

I would lastly like to remind you of the bloodshed that occurred a year hence in the towns of Lexington and Concord. Had the British military not intruded on the freedom of the colonists to possess the means to form a militia and defend themselves, the battle would never have occurred. By making a clear and formal declaration that the inhabitants of these colonies will no longer tolerate the tyrannies practiced by the British government, you and the other members of the Second Continental Congress will be sending a message that should forestall any further needless bloodshed.

I am not naive enough to expect the British to allow these colonies their rightful independence simply upon our demand. But you and your fellow members of the Continental Congress have the ability to usher in a new era of change much faster and more peacefully than the current situation promises. I hope you use it.

Works Cited

Nash, Gary; Jeffrey, Julie; Howe, John; Frederick, Peter; Davis, Allen; Winkler, Allan; Mires, Charlene; Pestana, Carla. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society, 6th Ed. New York: Longman, 2007.

Oliver, Susan. "Creating Demand for Revolution: Thomas Paine's Common Sense." Accessed 12 July 2009. http://www.cerritos.edu/soliver/American%20Identities/Thomas%20Paine/thomas_paine.htm.....