Problem
A. What did Paine mean when he used the terms "summer soldier" and a "sunshine patriot"? What is Paine trying to express by using these phrases? What connections can be drawn about a summer soldier and a winter soldier? (To better understand the idea of a winter soldier, read Paine's description of Washington's early military maneuvers and read pages 148-159 in the textbook to develop a better understanding of the early years of the war.)
B. In the first paragraph, Paine writes, "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly." What does Paine mean by this statement?
C. Both England and the colonists called upon God to help them in their fight. What argument or arguments does Paine use to suggest that God is really on the colonists' side?
D. Why do you think George Washington had his officers read American Crisis to troops on the eve of the Battle of Trenton?
E. Paine writes, "Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to "bind me in all cases whatsoever" to his absolute will, am I to suffer it?" What does Paine mean by this line? (When thinking about this question, think about how Paine could justify the American Revolutionary War as not being an offensive war.)
F. How does Paine describe King George III? Why does Paine uses these analogies (a literary attempt to draw connections between two things that have similar characteristics) to describe King George III?
G. Why does Paine believe that the British avoided attacking the New England colonies? What reason or reasons does he give?
H. How does Paine define a Tory or Loyalist? Why does Paine choose this particular language when describing a Tory?
I. What is the point of Paine's story about the tavern keeper at Amboy? What is he trying to convey through the retelling of this story?
J. How does Paine describe the king's treatment of the colonists?
K. Paine's work could be described as trying to appeal to the emotions of the colonists. Provide one quote from Paine's text that serves as an example of this emotional appeal. What emotion is Paine trying to evoke in the chosen quote?