In some arguments made by those who were opposed to immediate independence from England, there were economic, military, political, and foreign affair concerns. These people believed that there would be no good outcome for the colonies from fighting and separating from England. Thomas Paine addressed these concerns by acknowledging the colonies’ capability of economic independence, explaining the ease of competing with the British Navy, highlighting the flaws in the English government, and assuring their likely beneficial relationships with foreign countries. Paine argued that the colonies would not have many issues in thriving economically without Britain. He brought to light the fact that America’s goal was commerce and the rest of Europe …show more content…
Paine countered this by pointing out not only the faults and weaknesses of Britain’s military power, but also the possible strengths of the colonies. He explained that a major fault of Britain’s was that although the navy was large, it was spread much too thin between all of the territories they were responsible for, and “not a tenth part of them are at any one time fit for service,” (page 105). He claimed that the colonies did not need to worry about building a large enough military force, but rather focus on developing a strong and strategic one. By emphasizing that size was not the issue, Paine took some of the pressure off of being completely defeated by military force. He also explained that the colonies had every capability of efficiently building a navy; iron was abundant, weaponry was easily crafted, hemp was available for ropes, and they were growing more intelligent every day (page 106). If the colonies did not need to worry about how they would create a navy, then it was likely they would feel more confident in declaring independence and fighting for their freedom. The skills and resources were already more in their favor than the majority of other European powers, and Paine continued elaborating that it would not be difficult for the colonies to build a …show more content…
Paine stated that “the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered” (page 68). With that being taken into consideration, he elaborated that the English government was so large and complex that it could take them years to find where a problem lies in their system rather than immediately being able to point it out. He also explained that Britain was too far away from the colonies to be able to keep the peace and was not fit to govern them. Therefore, there was a higher likeliness for disorder and civil war while under English rule than when independent. The government would be simpler and not as spread out as the one that was currently ruling over them if they became independent. It made no sense for an island that was thousands of miles away to govern a whole continent, and “nothing but independence…can keep the peace of the continent and preserve it inviolate from civil wars” (page 94). He wanted to make it clear to those opposed to parting from Britain that the best way to avoid civil war and anarchy was ultimately independence. America was already turning its head away from them and would soon want nothing to do with their original “mother” country. To support his claim of less disorder, Paine laid out an example base for a new form of