Published in 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense called upon American colonists to declare independence from Great Britain. Paine used forceful, persuasive, and accessible language to attack the monarchy as well as the colonial system that exploited American colonists. He encouraged Americans to create a new nation with a strong central government and a constitution that protected individual rights. This widely read and highly influential pamphlet united colonists of various backgrounds and helped establish liberty as the cause between these groups on the road to declaring independence.