Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was one of the most influential publications of the American Revolution. The pamphlet was published in Philadelphia in January 1776, only six months before the Declaration of Independence. Writing anonymously as “an Englishman,” Paine persuasively drew from Enlightenment political, moral, and religious ideas, as well as biblical passages that seemed to oppose monarchical government, to galvanize support for American independence. By the end of the year, over twenty editions had appeared in both the American colonies and Britain. This early copy of Common Sense is a rare first Boston printing, published in the spring of 1776 along with supplemental writings titled Large Additions to Common Sense.