Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ at 250: A Warning for 2026 America

The Founding Father's words 250 years ago speak directly to us today as we confront a would-be absolute monarch far more dangerous and un-American than George III.

Jan 19, 2026

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Robert S. McElvaine is a historian and the author of 11 books, including The Times They were a-Changin’: 1964—The Year the Sixties Arrived and the Battle Lines of Today Were Drawn. Subscribe to his Musings & Amusings Substack.

“Here is idolatry even without a mask: And he who can calmly hear and digest such doctrine, hath forfeited his claim to rationali…

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A guest post by

Robert S. McElvaine

Author, historian, feminist, believer in democracy—placing current developments in historical context. Author of 11books. Current book project: “An Agreed-Upon Fiction—The creation of the ‘Inferior’ Sex: Hoe It Misshaped History & the Present.”