This essay compares the word choice, and overall effectiveness of the decleration of independence vs. thomas paine's "common sense".

"The Declaration of Independence" asserted our nations position in the world, and demanded attention for the British aggressors. Conversely, without the document Common Sense, it is incredibly likely that our nation would have never rallied behind the cause of independence. When examining the content of, arguably the two most important texts in our nation's history, it's quite common to question which was more effective in its style, language, and content. This question, however, can easily …

…was powerful enough to rally support of the ordinary man. Unfortunately, the lack of originality takes away from the ambiance of the declaration. It is evident that without the mass public acceptance of Common Sense, the declaration may have never even had the opportunity to have been written. Paine helped unify a nation with nothing more than a pen and paper. Jefferson simple compiled the thoughts and feelings of many men into a concise document.