Common Sense is a classic piece of U.S. history that will help us see the importance of societies coming together to form a fair governmental system, and how these ideas paved the way for the American revolution.

Before the American Revolution, virtually all of the Western world was ruled by royal dynasties- a system considered so natural that few even thought to question it.

But in 1776, a fiery pamphlet took the colonies by storm, attacking not only British rule, but the very foundation of monarchy.

Written by entrepreneur and political activist Thomas Paine, Common Sense made a simple case for a republic of equals.

Circulating throughout the colonies and read at taverns and town halls, the pamphlet helped fan the sparks of revolution into an unstoppable wildfire.