The American Crisis (Paperback)

~ Thomas Paine (Author)

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Product Description

Thomas Paine wrote the American Crisis in an effort to justify the American Revolution and to bolster the moral of the Continental Army. THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Wilder Publications (March 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604591366
• ISBN-13: 978-1604591361
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #629,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars He who dares not offend can not be honest, July 4, 2009

By	H. Schneider "Hermit" (window seat) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Thomas Paine wrote this series of articles during the War of Independence.
He defines his purpose, in Crisis VII, as `setting forth to the one the impossibility of being conquered, and to the other the impossibility of conquering'.
There are 12 Crisis articles; oddly, though they are numbered chronologically, there is no number XII. The final one is numbered XIII; number X is not identified as such, but is called Crisis Extraordinary. The first was dated December 1776, and number XIII is from April 1783.
They can be read as running commentary on the war, with always updated views on the state of things and summaries of the history of the conflict.
The articles are signed `Common Sense' after his own seminal pamphlet from the initial period of the war. Some of them are addressed to somebody, like an open letter. The recipients are the British commander of the expedition forces, or the British `peace commission' sent to negotiate anything but independence, or the American people, or just the inhabitants of America, or the people of England...
TP sees himself as a natural interface between Britain and America, having himself only immigrated recently, not long before the war started. He assumes that the people of England have no real information about the war, being fully reliant on the official government propaganda, whereas the Americans can take sides and can draw on different sources.
Essentially, TP is full of contempt for British bullying and incompetence. His predictions for the development of the conflict prove amazingly farsighted. Even during the hard early years, when the expedition forces seemed to overwhelm the independence fighters, TP never believed in defeat. At least not in writing.
While some of the texts are outdated, a lot of them are fully alive even today. The man was a first rate propaganda talent, and he wrote on the right side of the fence.
In times of hardship: Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
He who dares not offend can not be honest. There are men who have not virtue enough to be angry.

By the way, congratulations on the 4th of July to my American friends.