Thomas Paine claims the title The Father of the American Revolution because of Common Sense, the pro-independence monograph pamphlet he anonymously published on January 10, 1776; the work quickly spread among the literate, and, in three months, sold 120,000 copies throughout the American colonies (with only two million free inhabitants), making it a best-selling work in eighteenth-century America. It is here given a concise metered form suitable for theatrical adaptation and public performance.