In politics, as in nature, tensions can take years to build, but it takes just one stone to unleash an avalanche, one spark to ignite a wildfire. For many historians of the American Revolution, that ...

"We have it in our power to begin the world anew." Words written by Thomas Paine in Philadelphia 250 years ago in his pamphlet titled "Common Sense." In fewer than 50 pages, historians say that ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Miniature American flags flutter in wind gusts across the National Mall near the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. | J ...

"Common Sense" awakens the American colonies to the idea of true independence. On January 9th, 1776, the pamphlet "Common Sense" is published in Philadelphia. The pamphlet immediately becomes a ...

The manifesto leaned heavily on Isaac Newton’s theories in making a case for independence, and fellow founders drew on the notion to build a new system of government By Jo Marchant Illustration by ...