Paine's Common Sense, Declaration Of Independence, George Washington And The Civil War

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From 1770s to the death of Whitman nationalism and democracy were interwoven in America. The interconnectedness of nationalism and democracy can be traced in Paine’s Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, George Washington and the Civil War. When Thomas Paine’s Common Sense appeared anonymously on January 10, 1776, it became the central literary document in the nationalistic movement of the country. It advocated independence from Britain and heartened the colonists to fight for separation. It asserted, “TIS TIME TO PART . . . there is something very absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island” (qtd. in Ayers et al. 146). It convinced the colonists to seek independence from Britain; thus, it played a significant role in the nationalism of the country. “Circulated throughout the colonies, Common Sense did more than any…show more content…
Furthermore, there is a mutual relationship between American nationalism and American democracy on one side and the Civil War on the other. The reason behind the War was nationalistic and democratic. The American wanted to resolve the conflict between North and South to increase the nationalism. And the conflict was over abolition, a democratic cause. After the War ended the two sides began a gradual process of reconciliation which was an exercise in nation-building. It increased nationalism; the nationalistic goal of the War was realized. After the War the situation of the blacks improved, although gradually. It was a movement toward the realization of the democratic objective of the war. From the revolutionary era to the culmination of Whitman’s poetic career American nationalism and American democracy were the dominant discourses of the country and as the four instances of Paine’s Common Sense, Declaration of Independence, George Washington and the Civil War indicate the two discourses were
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