Independence was a doctrine scarce and rare, even towards the conclusion of the year 1775; all our politics had been founded on the hope of expectation of making the matter up--a hope, which, though general on the side of America, had never entered the head or heart of the British court.
Paine observes that the concept of American independence was initially uncommon, as most political efforts focused on reconciliation, a hope not shared by the British court.
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It has nothing to dread from attacks; truth has given it an establishment, and time will record it with a name as lasting as his own.
The man who is in the receipt of a million a year is the last person to promote a spirit of reform, lest, in the event, it should reach to himself.
They had a cause at stake, on which depended their freedom or their slavery.