Review the timeline at the beginning of this unit. what specific events and issues is thomas paine responding to when writing this pamphlet? what are his issues with britain? why were colonists fighting for independence? for example, he writes, “britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but ‘to bind us in all cases whatsoever’.” this is referring to the act of the british parliament in 1766 that stated they were allowed to make laws about whatever they wanted to in regard to the colonies, which made most colonists extremely angry. identify at least four other specific events or issues that would have caused thomas paine to argue so passionately for independence, and be sure to use specific evidence from the excerpt to support your assertions.

Iam for the "immediate, unconditional, and universal" enfranchisement of the black man, in ev [loud applause.] without this, his liberty is a mockery; without this, you might as well almost slavery for his condition; for in fact, if he is not the slave of the individual master, he is the slay liberty as a privilege, not as a right. he is at the mercy of the mob, and has no means of protec how does the repetition of the phrase "without this" support the paragraph's argument? it reinforces the idea that without equality in the us, the idea of a free society is a joke. it suggests that a free society is possible, with or without equal rights for all people. it indicates that douglass would be content without material possessions or status. it proposes that slavery will not be abolished in the us without the support of all citizens.