Assume the role of an individual who supported the American Revolution (a Patriot or Whig). Loyalist James Chalmers, under the pseudonym of Candidus, wrote Plain Truth in response to Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet Common Sense. You can click on the enclosed link to read Thomas Paine at Gutenberg Project. Then read the excerpted text from Chalmers below, shaping your statement in support of Chalmers’ argument.
Your submission should be a minimum of 200 words in length. Try not to make assumptions. Instead, assume the historical role of someone who lived in the colonies in the period up to, and including, the American Revolution. You could be a Colonial politician, a merchant, a farmer, a shop owner, or even a Southern plantation owner. Be creative.
The correct answer and explanation is:
Certainly! Below is a historically inspired response from the perspective of a Patriot countering James Chalmers’ Loyalist arguments in Plain Truth, supporting Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and the cause of American independence.
A Response to Candidus’ Plain Truth
March 1776
As a merchant of Boston, I have witnessed firsthand the oppressive yoke of British rule upon our fair colonies. James Chalmers, writing under the name Candidus, would have us believe that submission to the Crown is the wiser course, that we lack the strength, the unity, or the means to govern ourselves. But I say to my fellow countrymen: shall we remain forever in chains, subject to the whims of a distant Parliament that knows nothing of our struggles?
Candidus claims that separation will bring ruin, that our commerce will falter, and that we shall fall prey to internal strife or foreign conquest. Yet, what has loyalty brought us but endless taxation, unjust laws, and the spilling of colonial blood upon our own soil? Did Britain protect our livelihoods when it imposed the ruinous Stamp Act or the cursed Tea Act? Did it shield our liberties when it sent redcoats to fire upon unarmed men in the streets of Boston? Nay! It is not we who seek war, but the tyrant King George who has made war upon us!
Thomas Paine, in his Common Sense, speaks rightly when he calls for an end to monarchy’s tyranny and the birth of a free and just republic. We are not feeble, nor are we incapable of self-governance. We have farmers, merchants, artisans, and statesmen—men of reason and fortitude who can shape a new nation where the voice of the people, not the decree of a distant king, is sovereign.
I urge my fellow Americans to cast off the chains of servitude and embrace the cause of liberty. We shall not falter, nor shall we fail. Let the world know that America stands ready to govern herself, free from British oppression!
Now, I’ll generate an image depicting a passionate Patriot orator addressing a crowd of colonists, rallying support for independence against Loyalist opposition.
Here is an image of a passionate American Patriot delivering a speech to a crowd of colonial townspeople, rallying support for independence against Loyalist opposition. Let me know if you’d like any modifications or a different perspective!
