The Crisis by Thomas Paine

The Crisis Reviews

• 
  Stephen

  With as much vitriol and negative crap going on around us every day lately (not all of it undeserved mind you), I found it tremendously heartening to hear someone speak so passionately and unabashedly about loving their country and being willing to fight and sacrifice to preserve the ideals for which it was founded. Surprisingly, I found this to be an even more emotionally stirring work than Paine's more famous
  Common Sense. I read this piece immediately after finishing the historical fiction novel
  To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom, whose title is derived from the famous first line of this series of essays. The combination of reading about the horrendous conditions faced by Washington's army prior to the crossing of the Delaware and leading up to the Battle of Trenton, which turned the tide in the Revolutionary War, and then experiencing Paine's incredibly powerful words to the American people to "keep the faith" and persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds was a very special moment for me.
  
  I have included portions of the first essay (the beginning and the ending) to give an idea of the power of Paine's words. However, I think having just read the account of the soldiers in
  To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom added significantly to the effect Paine's words had on me, but I am still hopeful the passion and belief evident in the words will still shine through.
  

  THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. 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" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

  and then ends as follows:

  This is our situation, and who will may know it. By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils — a ravaged country — a depopulated city — habitations without safety, and slavery without hope — our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians, and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented.

  5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
• 
  Theo Logos

  The Crisis displays Thomas Paine’s full power as a propagandist. The first Crisis was written in the dark winter of 1776 when the war was going badly for the Colonials, "the times that try men's souls," as Paine put it. His call to action in adversity, his sneer at "the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot" are as stirring now as they certainly were then. He stripped his subject of every side issue, every nuance that might encourage wavering or compromise, and focused his reader exclusively on the goal at hand.
  
  Under Paine's pen every British victory is shown as an actual setback, every Colonial retreat is a brilliant maneuver to entrap the enemy into spreading itself too thin. Even slight Colonial victories like Trenton become huge, earth shattering. Nothing the British do can be of any consequence in the end, and ultimate victory is all but assured so long as the Americans will simply keep at it.
  
  The brilliant thing is, Paine was right. The British, far from home and facing a huge, hostile territory, had no chance of ultimate victory so long as the Colonials kept an army in the field. As Paine pointed out, only absolute victory would win the war for the British, while all the Americans needed for victory was a draw. So ultimately, British arms could not defeat the Americans, but only the despair of the American forces. Paine put his pen to work to make sure that his countrymen would not despair.
  
  The Crisis was not written as a single work, but as a series of sixteen letters variously addressed to the America people, the British public, and various British generals and officials. The early ones are the most vigorous and stirring, while several of the latter ones bog down in details of taxation and other issues that have long since ceased to interest any but the serious historian of the period. But when you read the best of these, you will understand why John Adams said that without Paine's pen "the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain."
• 
  Angela

  I know this was a huge propaganda tool. I know this is one man's impassioned opinion and that I must take it all with a "grain of salt." But I just can't help but be pulled in by Paine's persuasions and believe that what he says is the one and only truth. What a beautiful wordsmith he was with such awesome lines as:
  
  "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'Tis dearness only that gives every thing its value."
  
  Not to mention his powerful opener:
  
  "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer solider and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
  
  Can you imagine how this rallied General Washington's despondent troops? Can you imagine the fire it light under un-enlisted men to get up and join the fight?!
  
  His last and final pamphlet entitled The Last Crisis is filled with hope for a new world that had pushed the boundaries and declared its freedom. It just gives me a sense of pride for my country; an imperfect land that has struggled to get things right, but has never stop in its pursuit for liberty and justice for all. While reading these passages, I couldn't help but feel gratitude toward those men (like Thomas Paine) who fought for the place I call home.
• 
  Lily Yu - Books by Starlight

  Love Paine's writings! Very talented and he's got a brilliant grasp on language and persuasive techniques. And his sarcasm is amazing!
• 
  Netanella

  These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in
  this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love
  and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this
  consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain
  too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.
  
  Ah, the ever quotable Thomas Paine. "The American Crisis" is a collection of pamphlets written to motivate the American army and public during its long, fraught war for independence from Great Britain. Washington would have it read to his army men to encourage them. It's fun to read, but I'd read private letters than motivational pieces. Recommended to fans of early U.S. history.
• 
  Doreen Petersen

  Excellent book for understanding the feelings of Americans as they declared their independence from Great Britain. Makes you want to learn more than just one side of the issue. For those interested in American Revolutionary War history this is a must read.
• 
  Clay Davis

  A wonderfully written piece with humor and at times biting wit.
• 
  Kedavra Mandylion

  Very dramatic and well written, as it's usual with Paine.
  I laughed out loud at the "bawdy houses for the Hessians" part. Why is it always the Hessians?
• 
  Ben

  "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value." So begins this classic work by Thomas Paine (written between 1776 and 1783), a piece, dare I say, more fiery than "Common Sense," in which he defends the American cause against the British in the American Revolutionary War. What made the work particularly incendiary to me was the section directed to General William Howe, which begins: "To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture. Enjoy, sir, your insensibility of feeling and reflecting. It is the prerogative of animals." Ouch!
  
  In closing, Paine (writing here under the pseudonym "Common Sense") writes that "It was the cause of America that made me an author. . . . made it impossible for me, feeling as I did, to be silent. . . . I have likewise added something to the reputation of literature, by freely and disinterestedly employing it in the great cause of mankind . . . ." Indeed, often through periods of tumult and struggle, great pieces of beauty emerge to give hope to the people. Had it not been for the struggles of America in her early years, we may have never been graced with the works of Tom Paine, "the English Voltaire."
• 
  Darcy Leech

  I taught The Crisis for 6 years in my AP Language class. This is a wonderful work for preparing students for the AP test and for ACT preparation as it is a non-fiction persuasive argument with metaphor. allusion, parallelism and historical significance. Because of the richness of allusions in the text and allusions to the text, this is a piece any writer or aspiring educated citizen should read. Thomas Paine's passion is refreshing in it's zeal, and enlightening to the tone and mood of the era. My favorite line is "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: 'Tis dearness only that gives every thing its value." If we are to idealize American values, this sentiment is one I would like at the top. The good fight is worth fighting! The Crisis is a rousing read, and honestly, I miss reading it yearly. I may have to read it again soon.
• 
  Now, if I could just get paid for Reading...

  So far, one of the best shit talkers I've read.
• 
  J.C.

  I wish this was either shorter or smaller. The random selections following The Crisis that are provided feel fragmented, and at times I wish there was some historical context provided with the text. But Paine is a good writer, very passionate and determined and I found his voice interesting and engaging.
• 
  Rowan Harris

  This was something I also read in school, so again, it’s not like I’m going to recommend this to anybody else. It’s not bad, and Paine does have a sense of motivation, but it’s kind of boring. What else should I say?
• 
  Luccas Hallman

  “These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
• 
  Mark Lisac

  He was a born rebel (perhaps even a chronic malcontent) who managed serially to become an enemy of King George III, Maximilien Robespierre, and George Washington, as well as an object of disdain for John Adams. But he was a wonderful propagandist and pamphleteer, as this condensed set of selections from his series The Crisis amply shows. Worth reading for the sake of the writing alone, let alone the help in understanding the time.
  A few passages also demonstrate how American exceptionalism was built into national beliefs from the start. Here is Paine writing in March 1778, with the fighting in full swing: "America has surmounted a greater variety and combination of difficulties than, I believe, ever fell to the share of any one people in the same space of time, and has replenished the world with more useful knowledge and sounder maxims of civil government than were ever produced in any age before. Had it not been for America there had been no such thing as freedom left throughout the whole universe. … (W)e may justly stile it the most virtuous and illustrious revolution that ever graced the history of mankind."
  But at the revolution's successful conclusion, in April 1783, he expressed a hope that remains relevant in 2020 and may not be as well remembered in the United States: "(M)ay she never forget that a fair national reputation, is as of much importance as independence … That it gives a dignity which is often superior to power, and commands a reverence where pomp and splendor fail."
• 
  David Orphal

  "These are the times that try men's souls..." Like most Americans, I knew the quote and the source, but not the entirety of Paine's essays and letters from his years serving in the American army under Washington.
  
  Reading all thirteen of the Crisis series is like looking at the blog of an American Revolutionary War soldier. It's angry, it's self-justifying, it's personal.
  
  Some essays in the Crisis are independent works, written for publication by American printers. Others take the forms of letters to General Howe, the British commissioners at New York, and the people of England.
  
  Paine's essays give a clear, and compelling argument for American independence as well as a running record of his first-hand experiences during the losses and victories of Washington's army.
  
  Paine's direct and eloquent writing make the essays easy to read for the modern scholar.
• 
  Iain

  Although this is an excellent read for a contemporary feeling of the revolutionary generation of Americans it does get repetitive and long winded in parts. Several of the Crisis papers are brilliant but others are not. Thomas Paine was definitely one of the most passionate and gifted writers of the American Revolution and reading his works are worthwhile to tap into the feeling of the day.
  
  Good for the historian readers out there.
• 
  Paul

  Well let me put it this way.
  Read the Crisis I.
  Then skip the rest unless you are a true scholar of history.
  It is interesting especially to read in conjunction with a study of the American Revolution,
  but I wouldn't suggest it for a good bedtime story.
  
  Unless you're having trouble going to sleep.
• 
  Einzige

  A series of short essays where Paine really shows his flair as a propagandist. The origin of a few famous quotes and something which has a rather pleasant fire to it. A very specific piece.
  
  Quote of the book
  There is not in the compass of language a sufficiency of words to express the baseness of your king, his ministry and his army. They have refined upon villany till it wants a name. To the fiercer vices of former ages they have added the dregs and scummings of the most finished rascality, and are so completely sunk in serpentine deceit, that there is not left among them one generous enemy.
• 
  Reagan Faith Waggoner

  These are the times that try mens’ souls.
  
  If “Common Sense” jumpstarted the revolution, “the Crisis” played a major role in sustaining it. Powerful words as should be expected of Paine.
  
  I enjoyed it, but to a lesser degree than I enjoyed “Common Sense.” Still, its historical significance should not be underestimated.
  
  To argue with a man who has announced used in authority of reason, and his philosophy consists and holding humanity and content, it’s like administering medicine to the dad, or endeavoring to convert an atheist scripture. -Thomas Paine
  
  We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in. -Thomas Paine
  
  
• 
  Nathan Schultz

  The historical context was amazing here. You could really get a sense of how passionate people were about liberty and how the common individual felt a personal sense of responsibility regarding the proper development of a new country. I appreciated how the author really brought out most of the central issues to a wide variety of audiences. After studying this time period I felt like this really helped me get a better feel for how people were feeling throughout the American Revolution.
• 
  chels

  had to read for ap english lmao
• 
  Brandon

  What an incredible document..Important and relevant STILL!!