Answer:
The statement is true. Thomas Paine's Common Sense preceded and influenced the Declaration of Independence
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Explanation:
Common Sense is the title of a pamphlet that Thomas Paine published on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Free from any emotional ties to Britain, Paine stated that it was America's job to achieve independence and introduce a new, democratic system of government based on the principles of human rights. "Common Sense" had an enormous success and caused a change of opinion in favor of the patriots.
In addition to the focus on the necessity of a separation from Britain, Common Sense also anchors natural law and democratic ideas that were groundbreaking for the later Declaration of Independence.
Common Sense became the most popular pamphlet in the American colonies and reached a circulation of 120,000 copies in three months. Current research suggests that as early as 1776 half of all American colonists had heard passages from Common Sense in one way or another. In total, the pamphlet reached a circulation of more than 500,000 copies.
