SOURCE: "The Crisis," in Thomas Paine's American Ideology, University of Delaware Press, 1984, pp. 240-53.

In the essay that follows, Aldridge reviews the series of pamphlets collectively titled the Crisis, which Paine published during the course of the Revolutionary War and which, consequently, reflect the array of issues and ideas that then permeated American thought.

Much less has been written about Paine's Crisis than his Common Sense, probably because it concerns itself primarily with events and circumstances in the military and diplomatic struggle and devotes relatively little attention to ideology.

Its title, like that of Paine's first publication, had previously been used in England. An anti-administration periodical entitled simply The Crisis flourished in London throughout 1775 and 1776. A total of ninety-one numbers were published, as well as one Crisis Extraordinary, a title which Paine also later adopted.¹ The London Crisis vigorously supported the colonies in their struggle for liberty and...