05/29/2026
Since its founding, the United States has been a model of democracy, liberty, and freedom. When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in 1776, he knew that if America’s fight against Britain was successful, it would inspire other independence movements around the world.
In the introduction of Common Sense, Paine writes, “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through the principles of all Lovers of Mankind are affected, and in the Event of which, their Affections are interested… declaring War against the natural rights of all Mankind, and extirpating the Defenders thereof from the Face of the Earth, is the Concern of every Man to whom Nature hath given the Power of feeling; of which Class, regardless of Party Censure.”
Paine tells us that America’s cause (freedom from the tyrannical rule of monarchy) is a cause of all people. Those in power who declare “War against the natural rights of all Mankind,” such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is a concern for all people. No matter our race, religion, or wealth, we are all born with the ability to feel and empathize with the injustices shown toward others when these rights are taken away.
🖼️ The Great Bartholdi Statue – Liberty Enlightening the World, Currier & Ives, 1885
