Publication of 'The American Crisis'

Background. Winter 1776 was a time of need in the colonies: Philadelphia and the entire rebel American cause were described as on the verge of death, and the revolution was still viewed as an unsteady prospect. Paine, like many politicians and scholars, knew colonists would not support the Revolutionary War without proper reason, and inspiring works were needed.

Publication of the First Pamphlet. The American Crisis was a pamphlet series by the Enlightenment philosopher and author Thomas Paine. The first pamphlet was published in The Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776, and Paine signed the pamphlets with the pseudonym "Common Sense." The Crisis series appeared in a range of formats, sometimes as stand-alone pamphlets and sometimes in newspapers.

Content and Purpose. The first Crisis paper opens with the famous sentence "These are the times that try men's souls," denies Great Britain any right to invade the colonies, and argues that bound colonists would be enslaved. Paine encouraged colonists to value victory, urging that "the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph," and closed with a vivid warning against cowardice.