Common Sense Published anonymously by Thomas Paine in January 1776, Common Sense was an immediate best-seller, both in the colonies and in Europe. It had several editions in Philadelphia and was republished in all parts of the United States. For this reason Paine became internationally famous. “A Covenanted People” called Common Sense “by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution…remains one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language.” Paine's political pamphlet highlighted the growing revolutionary sentiment by placing the blame for the colonies' suffering squarely on the reigning British monarch, George III. First, common sense supported an immediate declaration of independence, proposing America's special moral duty to the rest of the world. Not long after publication, the spirit of Paine's argument found prominence in the American Declaration of Independence. Written at the beginning of the Revolution, Common Sense became the leaven of the ferment of the times. It pushed the colonists to strengthen their resolve, resulting in the first successful anti-colonial action in modern history. Paine did not realize that his writings would set fire to a movement that had rarely, if ever, been elaborated in the Old World: the sovereignty of the people and written constitutions, along with effective checks and balances in government. Paine has been described as a professional radical and revolutionary propagandist without peer. Born in England, he was fired as an excise officer while lobbying for higher wages. Impressed by Paine, Benjamin Franklin sponsored Paine's emigration to America in 1774. In Philadelphia Paine became a journalist and essayist, contributing articles on all subjects to the Pennsylvania Magazine..