In December of 1776, as George Washington's army retreated towards the Delaware River,
Thomas Paine, the author of the sensational pamphlet Common Sense, published The Crisis,
No.1, the first of a series he would release throughout the duration of the American Revolution.
The essays demonstrate Paine's ongoing support for an independent and self-governing America.
General Washington found the first essay to be so inspiring, he ordered that it be read
to the troops four days before the Battle of Trenton (and again at Valley Forge).
November and early December of 1776 marked the low point for the American Revolutionary
effort. With Washington's army of the verge of disintegrating, Thomas Paine sensed the
oncoming panic of the American public and once again grabbed up his pen to bolster the
American cause. On a drumhead setting next to an army campfire,
he wrote the opening words to The Crisis, No. 1.
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it
now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny... is not easily conquered;
yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious
the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that
gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and
it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly
rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right
not only to TAX but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner,
is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression
is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.
Paine went on to insist that Americans were far from beaten.
'Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All
nations and ages have been subject to them. Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses;
they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through
them, and acquires a firmer habit than before." The Crisis, No.1 originally appeared in The
Pennsylvania Journal before being printed in pamphlet form. For many Americans, the
Patriot victories at Trenton and Princeton seemed to give Paine's words a prophetic aura.
No matter how dire a situation seemed to be, Paine always maintained a positive view that
the Americans would emerge victorious, "for though the flame of liberty may sometimes
cease to shine, the coal can never expire." In all, Thomas Paine wrote eighteen essays
to rekindle the Patriot fire throughout the war. As he did with Common Sense, Paine donated
the revenue to the American cause, refusing to take a single cent for authoring some of the most
stirring words ever written in American history.