Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Like a lot of folks in this country,

we are gearing up for America's semi-quincentennial. That is America's 250th anniversary. So put on your

semi-quincentennial party hats and get ready to hear about some American history.

In a bit, the writer Jillipur and her exploration into the U.S. Constitution.

But first, we're going to talk about a different old text, Thomas Payne's common sense.

You probably know of it, but how much do you really know about it?

Historian Norse Lanimski gives a little refresher on it to NPR-McChammon

and also pitches an argument as to why the text is still relevant today.

A government of our own is our natural right.

This was the heart of Thomas Payne's argument in common sense,

which was published 250 years ago today.

That statement might sound exactly like common sense to us now, but at the time, it was a pretty

radical idea. As battles were breaking out between the British and the American colonists,

Payne made an impassioned case to separate from Britain and declare independence.

Seven months later, on July 4, 1776, that is exactly what happened, of course.

To help us understand Payne's enduring influence, we're joined now by Nora Sloanmsky, director of the Thomas Payne Institute at Iona University. Welcome to All Things

Considered. Hi, Sarah. Thanks so much for having me. Okay, for those of us who may not have read

Common Sense for a very long time, maybe back in high school or college, can you just remind us,

what were some of Thomas Payne's core arguments for independence? Sure. So common sense really moves the needle in the lead up to independence.

And it's got a pretty direct and straightforward premise, and that is to declare independence.

And it's really driven by the belief that monarchy is not a system of government that people should live

under. He's very clearly stating that a republic is the best thing for the people of North America,

...