Title page of the R. Bell edition of 'Common Sense' by American author and politician Thomas Paine, 1776. Subtitled 'Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, on the following subjects. I. Of the Origins and Design of Government in general, with concise Remarks on the English Constitution. II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. III. Thoughts on the present state of American Affairs. IV. Of the present Ability of America, with some miscellaneous Reflections,' the volume was the first published work to openly propose American independance from Great Britain. (Joe Griffin/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS)