Thomas Paine was a political writer who fervently supported the American Revolution. In this excerpt from his popular work Commo

n Sense, Paine uses an analogy to refute a common Loyalist claim. The first king of England, of the present line (William the Conqueror) was a Frenchman, and half the peers of England are descendants from the same country; wherefore, by the same method of reasoning, England ought to be governed by France. Which claim has Paine refuted? The American colonies should join Britain in any future war against France because the colonists are of English descent. Britain should govern the American colonies because the colonists are of English descent. France should govern the American colonies instead of Britain because the British king is a descendant of a Frenchman. The American colonies should not trade with France because of the ongoing war between France and Britain.