Read the excerpt from The Crisis, Number I by Thomas Paine. “I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, ‘Well! give me peace in my day.’ Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, ‘If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;’ and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty.”
Which is a central idea of this excerpt?
-Paine feels that everyone should be able to speak freely, which is why he supports independence.
-Paine believes that colonists should fight for independence so their children can live in peace.
-Paine believes that some people are selfish and place their needs above others.
-Paine felt anger for the first time when he saw an interaction between a Tory and a child.