Common Sense
was an instant best-seller. Published in January 1776 in Philadelphia,
nearly 120,000 copies were in circulation by April. Paine's brilliant
arguments were straightforward. He argued for two main points: (1)
independence from England and (2) the creation of a democratic republic.
Paine avoided flowery prose. He wrote in the language of the people,
often quoting the Bible in his arguments. Most people in America had a
working knowledge of the Bible, so his arguments rang true. Paine was
not religious, but he knew his readers were. King George was "the
Pharaoh of England" and "the Royal Brute of Great Britain." He touched a
nerve in the American countryside.
WWI was caused by many things, among them was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand leading to the Austria-Hungary empire declaring war on Serbia which dragged most of Europe into the war due to alliances. The U.S. entered the war due to Germanys war tactics and the Zimmermann note.