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Spirit of the revolution, Thomas Paine's Common Sense inspired author and historian Scott Liell, who credits Paine with fundamentally changing the way Americans saw the struggle against the British. [Michael Lupoli/The Summer Pennsylvanian]

Scott Liell gave a well-received presentation on Thomas Paine at the Penn Bookstore last Monday, praising the fiery patriot's contributions to the American Revolution and promoting his own new book, 46 Pages: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Point to Independence.

About twenty people gathered to hear Liell speak, including a camera crew from C-SPAN. Though occasionally interrupted by appeals for sales codes over the store intercom, Liell's obvious fascination with and mastery of his material kept the audience spellbound.

Liell emphasized Paine's hold on his own public and his ability to change the American paradigm.

"It was the small talk, it was what people were talking about at cocktail parties or around the water cooler, if they had such equivalents," Liell said.

A "publishing phenomenon before there was a publishing phenomenon," there would ultimately be one copy of Paine's pamphlet printed for every five Americans -- an astonishing print run in 1776.

While the number of copies of Common Sense ran into six digits, advertised almost exclusively by word of mouth, Liell pointed out that Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations -- an acclaimed, widely publicized best seller by eighteenth century standards -- sold only 1,500 copies in the same time span.

Paine turned "a singularly distasteful subject -- independence" into a cause men were willing to die for, Liell argued, noting that his "unambiguous policy of cutting the cord with great Britain" was a radical departure from his contemporaries, who saw themselves as simply "demanding their rights as Englishmen."

"Common Sense completely changed the context," Liell said.

Sketching the historical roots of the revolutionary movement, Liell touched on Great Britain's crushing debt from the 1763 French and Indian Wars and the colonists reaction to the motherland's revenue-boosting taxes.

But Paine is responsible for translating practical grievances into a totally new political mind set, turning what began as a respectful protest into a wholesale revolution, Liell maintained.

Simply, Paine's message was "something worth fighting for."

Fielding questions, Liell noted that Paine's simple, direct writing style was likely a result of his work in the press and as a street orator, appealing to the common man in terms he could understand.

Asked to name Paine's "political heir," the tirelessly enthusiastic Liell gave a sad smile.

"Unfortunately, I'd have to say I'm still waiting for him," he said.

The audience laughed its assent.

Liell said he was pleased with the event.

There was "a lot of energy from the small group that was there," Liell said. "The question and answer is always my favorite."

46 Pages: Thomas Paine, Common Sense, and the Turning Point to Independence is available at the Penn Bookstore. C-SPAN will air its coverage of the event on July 12th.

Liell is currently working on his next book, on the religious beliefs of the founding fathers.

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