Making Sense of the U.S. Government: Thomas Paine's Vision and the Reality of American Institutions Anonymous College

In 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet, Common Sense in order to help persuade the colonies into revolting against the British government. His writings would become a staple part of American history and were essential to the formation of the newly independent nation. However, it is questionable if the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution truly reflect Paine’s vision of the ‘perfect’ government, and one could argue that the American government does not live up to the one explained within his writings.

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine lays out the fundamental groundwork for the constitution of the new world. He writes, “… let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental Congress… [t]he conferring members being met, let their business be to frame a continental charter, or Charter of the United Colonies.” (Paine 50). He also writes of the government needing a system in which those in charge can be ‘checked’: “How came the king by a power which the people are afraid to trust, and always obliged to check? Such a power could not be the gift of a wise people, neither can any power, which needs checking, be...