Use the excerpt to answer the question. A government of our own is our natural right: And when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness of human affairs, he will become convinced, that it is infinitely wiser and safer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting event to time and chance.— Thomas Paine, Common Sense
What effect do you think these words had on the American colonists?
A.They most likely inspired fear in the Loyalists of the Patriots
B.They most likely encouraged the Framers to meet and write the U.S. Constitution at the Continental Congress.
C.They most likely strengthened the colonists’ desire to act on their wish to separate from Britain. D.They most likely increased colonial acts of civil disobedience by confirming their validity
C. They most likely strengthened the colonists’ desire to act on their wish to separate from Britain.
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is a pamphlet that played a significant role in inspiring colonial sentiment towards independence from Britain. Paine's assertion that creating a government was a "natural right" and that it was safer and wiser to establish their own constitution "in a cool deliberate manner" encouraged colonists to take control of their future rather than leaving their fate to the uncertainties of British rule. This call to action would have resonated with those who were already contemplating the idea of independence, bolstering their resolve to move towards that goal.