Quiz: Common Sense

10 questions drawn at random. Score 80% for a silver medal.

1. 1. What analogy does Paine use to show that America should not be governed by England?

   A child who has thrived on milk must never be given meat A ship cannot be steered from another, smaller ship A tree cannot be governed by one of its own branches No satellite is larger than its primary planet
2. 2. What does Paine expect to become of the outcry against sentiments that are not yet fashionable?

   It will be silenced only by a direct refutation in print It will last as long as the king supports Parliament It will soon subside, since time makes more converts than reason It will grow louder until the author is forced to withdraw the pamphlet
3. 3. How does Paine finally answer the Quakers’ principle that setting up and putting down kings is God’s prerogative?

   The principle applies only to kings anointed by a true and reformed church Americans want neither to make nor unmake a king, only to have nothing to do with kings Congress is itself the instrument God has chosen to unmake kings in this age God has already put down George III by allowing the war against the colonies to begin
4. 4. Since when, according to Paine, has a situation like America’s not occurred?

   Since the Reformation Since the Norman Conquest Since the days of Noah Since the fall of Rome
5. 5. What is the first of Paine’s reasons why only an open declaration of independence can settle America’s affairs?

   France and Spain have already promised aid on condition of independence Britain has refused to receive any further petitions or addresses from the colonies Congress cannot legally raise taxes until independence is declared No foreign power can mediate while America calls herself Britain’s subject
6. 6. Why does Paine say the Quakers’ quotation from Proverbs tells against them?

   Proverbs was written for the Jews under the Mosaic law and so has no force for Christians The Quakers misquoted it, leaving out the words that call the faithful to war The verse in fact commands the faithful to resist unjust and idolatrous rulers If pleasing the Lord brings peace with enemies, the king’s troubled reign shows he displeases Him
7. 7. How does Paine describe the cause of America in his introduction?

   As a local quarrel over taxes that Europe should ignore As in a great measure the cause of all mankind As a dispute among Englishmen about their ancient constitution As the cause of the Protestant religion against Catholic powers
8. 8. In the ceremony Paine imagines for proclaiming the charter, what happens to the crown?

   It is kept in the Congress hall as a symbol of the people’s sovereignty It is set on the charter, then broken up and scattered among the people It is sent back to George III along with the declaration of independence It is given to the president chosen by lot
9. 9. What does Paine give as the design and end of government?

   The protection of trade and colonies Freedom and security The promotion of true religion The glory of the nation
10. 10. According to Paine, what produces society and what produces government?

    Society is produced by commerce, and government by property Society is produced by our wants, government by wickedness Both are produced by God’s command to Adam Society is produced by government, and government by conquest