Welcome back to another day of this new series here at Mama’s Learning Corner: On This Day in American History!
On this day in American History, January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet, Common Sense, in Colonial Pennsylvania.
If you would like more details on how to use these On This Day in American History posts, please see this page: On This Day in American History in Your Homeschool
You can click here to see all of the posts in this series: On This Day in American History Series
January 10 – Paine’s Common Sense is Published
Thomas Paine published his pamphlet, Common Sense, in Colonial Pennsylvania on January 10, 1776. Common Sense is considered one of the most influential pieces of writing of the American Revolution, if not all of American History.
To do:
1.) Read portions of Common Sense. You can choose to read just the first few paragraphs, or all of it if you are able.
2.) Do you know what ‘common sense’ means? It is a phrase we use often today. Write what you believe the meaning of this phrase to be in a sentence. Then look up the phrase in a dictionary and write the actual definition in your notebook. Does your definition match the dictionary’s version?
3.) Think about the American Revolution. What was the main goal? Why do you think Paine was imploring people to use “good judgement” or common sense during this time? Write your answers in your notebook.
4.) The following is one of the most famous and well-known quotes from Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet.
O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her.—Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.
According to this passage, where does freedom no longer exist? Who is the “fugitive” to which Paine is referring? Who does Paine believe should accept the fugitive? Write your answers in your notebook.
If you are new to On This Day in American History
If you are new to On This Day in American History, Welcome!
Each day, I share an interesting event that occurred in our nation’s past. You will learn about famous Americans, interesting inventions and their patents, American art and music, and more.
You will also find suggested activities – labeled “To do” – if you would like to research this during your homeschool’s group time in the morning, or you can assign the activities for your children to work on independently.
If you think you will do more than one day of On This Day in American History, I would encourage you to have your child keep what I call a Notebook of Knowledge. A spiral notebook or sheets of paper stapled together is more than adequate!
Have your child write the day’s event and the date at the top of his paper. If there are writing activities, have him use his best composition, grammar, and penmanship as he completes the answers. After just a few weeks or even a month, he will have an excellent resource to read through!
If you would like to use this resource throughout the month, you might be interested in purchasing the full January Calendar. It contains:
- Access to the webpage with all of the January events listed, including all suggested activities for each daily event.
- A .pdf of the January Calendar, listed in chronological order with all suggested activities
- All necessary downloads to complete the assigned activities. These same downloads are linked on the webpage, however, they are also included here for easy access.
- The answers to any questions asked in the daily activities.
You can purchase that here:
On This Day in American History: January 9 – Connecticut Ratifies the U.S. Constitution
Leave a Reply