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If all people acted morally, then overspent will not be necessary. But since we are all sinful humans, government’s role is essential to protect our life, property and provide security. Paine thinks that people will be much happier if they are responsible for the creation of the laws that rule them. He mentions a scenario in which a small group of people placed on an island away from the rest of the society. These people will start to develop ties between one another in order to avoid living alone. They would start interacting to build shelters and feed themselves.
Thus, out of necessity, people tend to create society. People will need no government as long as they were able to morally treat each other. However, in order to stay safe from the predictable imperfections that may occur, people do need some sort of government to regulate them. Paine moves on to argue against monarchy and hereditary succession. He argues that everyone was born equal and the distinction that occurs between the king and the people is very unnatural and he, in fact, refers to it as a sinful act that lacks any religious bases.
According to Paine, Man is supposed to have only God ruling over him, and it s very sinful act to have a king ruling over people and acting like a God to them. He said that even if people asked to have a king to rule over them, kings should not have the right to pass their power to their generation. Even if the person may deserve certain honors, it does not necessarily mean that his children deserve them and thus, they should not be passed on.
Moreover, hereditary succession causes many evils with it, such as bringing incompetent kings who were useless in many cases with some of them suffering from mental and physiological issues. It was also the major cause of huge corruption and civil wars. Paine comes to a conclusion that Monarchy and hereditary succession have produced no good in the world but bloodshed and corruption. Paine was trying to lead people to the necessity of declaring America’s independence from Great Britain.
People argued that since America has flourished under the British rule, it should therefore remain attached to Britain. Paine debated this false way of thinking saying that Just because a child has flourished on milk, it does not mean that they should never eat meat for the rest of his/her life. He uses his example to further convince people that if Britain helped America to flourish, it does not necessary means that America should be attached to Britain forever. He also argues that Britain has only watched over America for its own benefits.
On one hand, it is argued that Britain has protected the colonies, on the other hand, Paine pointed out that Britain’s protection for the colonies was solely for its financial and economical well. He also mentions that the need for protection comes from the fact that those colonies are Britain’s colonies and thus, they suffer from Britain’s enemies. Paine also states that “from Britain we can expect nothing but ruin” he believes that Britain can no more be trustworthy especially after it has constantly enforced unfair taxes on its colonies and continued to enforce new taxes even after people have repelled them with the stamp- act.
Instead of watching over the colonies, the British have been attacking them, and are therefore undeserving of American loyalty. Paine further argues that America has gained nothing by remaining attached to Britain and it should be better off for America to seek independence now and conduct with the rest of Europe. Otherwise, many battles and unresolved financial issues will start to reappear and affect the colonies and it will eventually become impossible for them to return to a state of peace and normality under the British rule.
Moreover, Paine discusses the fact that America is a huge land and therefore it should be too complex to be governed by Britain which, in fact, is a smaller land. He goes on to add that it is perverse for a small island to be ruling over a larger continent. Having a strong belief in its will, Paine is convinced that America is capable of having a Navy that couple potentially defeats that of Britain’s. He goes on further and presents a full breakdown of how much it could cost to get it up and running.
Moreover, he backs up his argument by stating that America has enough natural resources to start building its Navy. Another reason why this Navy is essential, he states, is because America’s coasts are unprotected. Furthermore, Paine claims that America could potentially breakdown if independence does not take place. He goes on to say that the current size of the colonies makes it easier for them to be united together, I. E. There’s a better chance for them to work together. If time were to pass, and the population of the colonies to grow, the same feeling of unity would not be present.
Lastly, Paine makes it clear that independence is crucial for America to function properly. He says that, by declaring independence, America will be able to ask for the help of other countries in its struggle for freedom. For all of these reasons, Paine says it is very urgent that the colonies declare independence. All of the powerful phrases and arguments that were written by Thomas Paine greatly pushed and supported Americans to declare their independence from Great Britain in 1776, the event that marks the birth of the United States.