Even Paine initially favored reconciliation with Britain over independence

Evidence

Paine later asserted that, when coming to the colonies, “I had no thoughts of independence.” His early pieces in the Pennsylvania Magazine never raise the issue. “I happened to come to America a few months before the breaking out of hostilities,” Paine wrote. While finding colonists hostile to Parliament and British governmental ministers, he noted, “Their attachment to Britain was obstinate, and it was at that time a kind of treason to speak against it. They disliked the ministry, but they esteemed the nation. Their idea of grievance operated without resentment, and their single object was reconciliation.” Paine seemed to feel the same, so much so that John Adams later remarked about Paine, “When he first came over, he was on the other side, and had written pieces against the American cause.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 60

Categorization

• XREF: Complicates the standard founder narrative; relevant to how legal-political first principles crystallize only in crisis. — connects to: Pre-Paine patriot rhetoric demanded redress within the British system. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 50; Paine converted reconciliation arguments into pro-independence reasons.; Paine’s Common Sense reframed colonial resistance as a revolution for independence. (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Paine converted reconciliation arguments into pro-independence reasons. #expands (0.85)
• Paine’s Common Sense reframed colonial resistance as a revolution for independence. #expands (0.85)