ShmoopTube

00:04

no paine, no gaine....

00:22

.......alright well

00:24

just picture it your country is going to war against a much stronger better [Colonists going to war]

00:28

funded more established more organized enemy your chances of survival are low

00:33

you could probably use a little pick-me-up well that's where I come in

00:37

I'm vol 1 of the American crisis pamphlet series written by Thomas Paine [American crisis pamphlet]

00:42

Paine was a political activist who wanted to get rid of England like it was

00:46

a malignant melanoma he was one of those guys who was wavering about whether or [Thomas with britain shaped melanoma on his hand]

00:50

not war should be you know done it was a good idea or not he felt that the

00:55

decision to engage in all-out war with Britain was just common sense he even

00:59

wrote a pamphlet about it called a cleverly titled common sense yes, sorry if

01:03

that title came out of left field well common sense is Paine's most famous work

01:07

and we suggest you give it a read some time but today we're going to focus on

01:11

moi... American crisis so what is this other pamphlet Paine wrote and why did he

01:17

write it why on earth are we studying it well he'd already done his part to [Paine perusading America to go to war newspaper cover]

01:21

persuade America to go to war with the Brits, so mission accomplished right well

01:25

sorta but Paine's goal wasn't just to get Americans to fight the British it was

01:29

get the Americans to win so even after shots were fired Paine felt like he still

01:35

had a load of work to do he knew that warring colonists most of whom were

01:39

farmers were probably pooping their knickers in fear these weren't lifelong [Farmer scared to go to war]

01:43

military men they had inferior weaponry in training but some of them still slept

01:48

with stuffed animals..So Paine wanted to be a calming voice amid the first

01:52

wave of panic he wrote me along with 12 other volumes to lift the spirits of [American Crisis pamphlet talking]

01:58

American soldiers and encourage them to push forward make them feel like they

02:02

could and would win this thing despite the massive odds against them and you

02:07

know he'd give him something to read on the toilet and man did it work well Paine

02:11

was accompanying George Washington and his army as they trudged across cold [Paine and Washington walking in the snow with an army]

02:15

snowy New Jersey, these guys were downtrodden mentally in bad shape

02:19

physically and not feeling you know super positive about their chances...

02:24

many Washington's men had already been killed in battle and those who survived

02:28

knew that many more would soon join their fallen friends.. they were sick of

02:32

the death sick of the bloodshed sick of their underwear freezing through their [Soldier with freezing underwear]

02:36

backsides well on Christmas Eve 1776 the gang rode across the Delaware River in

02:41

preparation of launching a surprise attack against a sleeping enemy ok maybe

02:46

not particularly sporting to do a surprise attack but you know war is hell

02:50

well the men were filled with dread Washington could see it in their eyes he

02:54

knew that if they marched into formal mono-a-mono Battle in their current

02:59

mental state bad things were going to happen so he asked Paine to read from his

03:03

new pamphlet American crisis well by the time Paine finished his speech

03:08

the militia man were pumped and ready to rumble like the greatest halftime [Colonist men celebrating ready for battle]

03:12

locker room pep talk of them all....So what exactly was it Paine said in the pamphlet

03:16

and why did it affect Washington's men so profoundly, only one way to find

03:21

out let's take a good long look at me and break down everything I have to say

03:25

let's do it in the form of a dialectical journal, a dialectical journal is a

03:30

format for note keeping but allows you to organize a neat and tidy easy-to-read

03:35

record of your thoughts on a piece of writing see that's where you're going [Example of a dialectical journal]

03:38

with that that's what you're learning here it's not the same as personal

03:41

journal you might cave I don't need to know your innermost thoughts and desires

03:44

trust me I don't want to know them so yeah there's no reason to divulge who's

03:48

dating Trevor this week a dialectical journal consists of three columns

03:53

on the left like you write down any interesting or important [Quotes title on left column]

03:57

quotes that jump out at you in the middle you write the page or paragraph

04:01

number and then there on the right you jot down any analyses, impressions or

04:06

opinions you form about the quote or portion of the passage you transcribed

04:10

on the left side don't worry there will still be margins there for you to doodle in

04:14

Although make sure your teacher is pro doodle before you start scribbling [Teacher telling off boy for doodling]

04:18

okay back to me and all the brilliant inspiring things I have to say, here's the

04:22

template for our journal now let's peruse crisis one and see which quote

04:27

strike us as especially important you know how when you're writing an essay

04:31

your teacher always tells you to make sure you start with a grabby opening [Paine swinging on a wrecking ball]

04:35

something that will snag your audience's attention and make them thirsty for more

04:39

well Paine was a pro at this move in fact by the time he finished reading the

04:43

first couple of lines many of his listeners were already beginning to feel

04:47

their adrenaline pumping so let's write this one down in left column these

04:52

are the times that try men's souls the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot

04:57

will in this crisis shrink from the service of his country but he that [Quote from American Crisis pamphet in quote column]

05:02

stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman... in the middle

05:08

column we write the paragraph number in this case 1 and in the column on the

05:12

right we note our reactions to the text so what would be your reaction if you

05:17

were sitting on silly hillside icicles forming on your eyebrows teeth

05:20

chattering and someone spoke to you these words these are the times that try

05:23

men's souls yeah pretty famous line and with it pain is connecting right away [First sentence highlighted]

05:29

with the men's plight he's saying look I know this is hard our hearts and souls

05:34

are in the toilet right now but this is a test we're being challenged to hold [Paine giving a speech to soldiers]

05:38

our heads up high and fight even when the night is darkest yep in just eight

05:43

words he's told the men he knows how they feel and that it's time to rise to

05:46

the challenge so in the right column of our journal we can write something like

05:50

Paine quickly connects with his audience by acknowledging their hardships and [Impressions of Paine's first sentence in analyses column]

05:55

downcast attitude but at the same time he encourages them to look at the task

06:00

before them as an opportunity to prove their worth there you go perfect

06:04

alright moving on what's another goodie ...Here's another one in the first

06:07

paragraph what we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly it is dearness only

06:13

that gives everything its value so what we obtain too cheap ie if we get

06:19

something that comes to us too easily we esteem too lightly or [Man carrying guitar to a woman sitting at a desk]

06:23

it won't make us feel all that great it's dearness that gives everything its

06:28

value in other words the more passionately we want and fight for

06:32

something the more it's worth fighting for Paine knew exactly what the men

06:36

needed to hear with all the nasty weather and physical ailments they'd [Paine standing with soldiers by a campfire]

06:39

lost sight of what they were doing and why they were doing it this war would

06:43

earn them their freedom seize power from an oppressive regime, provide a better

06:48

life for their loved ones and so on well nobody said it would be easy in fact

06:52

Washington probably told them straight up they better get their life insurance [Soldiers standing in a boat and water leaks in]

06:56

paperwork in order but if freedom and liberty weren't ideals worth risking

06:59

one's life for well none of the militia men would even be there... Paine

07:03

reminded them of how heroic they were for even attempting this mission it was

07:08

on the same page with Patrick Henry with whole give me liberty or give me death

07:11

but I'd prefer Liberty business all right how about this one in the third

07:15

paragraph - God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction or

07:20

leave them unsupportedly to perish who have so earnestly and so repeatedly

07:25

sought to avoid the calamities of war by every decent method which wisdom could

07:31

invent when trying to cheer someone up it's never a bad idea to mention that

07:35

God things to their the cat's pajamas and totally has their back but what does [God cheering for colonists with a big foam finger]

07:39

all that other stuff mean well Paine is talking about how hard the colonists

07:43

tried to settle matters with England by diplomatic means ie by trying to reason

07:49

with them and present nonviolent solutions before the question of war

07:53

ever arose, he's telling him that because they made such good faith effort to

07:57

avoid all the horrors of war God certainly wouldn't abandon them in their

08:01

time of need his men are morally right and thus have extra bullets, that God will

08:06

be right there with them all the following day helping them to kill all [Colonists entering a house]

08:11

those soldiers in their sleep because you know that's right God plays sides as

08:15

a God fearing bunch Paine's Words were choir music for the men's ears to think

08:20

that the good Lord him or herself wanted them to win even not having them wage

08:24

war with the British was part of his master plan was a huge load off their

08:29

mind how can you lose with God on your side if you've ever seen a post football

08:33

game sideline interview you know we're [Man interviewing football player]

08:35

talking about all right well here's a doozy from the sixth paragraph Voltaire

08:39

has remarked that King William never appeared to full advantage but in

08:42

difficulties and in action the same remark may be made on General Washington [Paragraph from American Crisis appears]

08:47

for the character fits him...We can tell by the way that Paine refers to this

08:51

King William he was a person to be admired never appeared a full advantage

08:55

but in difficulties and in action and in other words when there were tough times

08:59

or you know when action was required the King was at his best and then he goes on [King William rides by]

09:04

to compare King William to George Washington for whom the character fits

09:08

him so why is he going on on about the general how does that help the other men

09:12

shouldn't he be buttering them up well yeah he's already checked that box here

09:17

he's making the men feel as if they're in capable hands if you were in their [Person ticks off a checklist]

09:20

shoes wouldn't you feel safer if you had a general leading the way who thrived on

09:24

difficult situations, who excelled at navigating his army through dangerous

09:29

waters and all that yeah so once again Paine is doing all he can do to resurrect [Paine resurrecting a spirit]

09:33

the men's spirit they've already got God on their side and now Washington rock

09:37

star general is going to see them through their safety as well those two [Washington playing air guitar]

09:41

are killer team captains... okay we are well on our way to understanding just how

09:45

powerfully Paine's words affected Washington's army your turn look over

09:49

the rest of the paragraphs and see which other quotes demonstrate Paine's artistry

09:52

with the English language and plug them into your journal don't forget the [Arrow points to paragraph numbers column]

09:56

paragraph numbers and jot down your thoughts and ask yourself these

10:00

questions how might this line have encouraged or motivated the men? How did

10:05

Paine's particular phrasing or word choice drive the point home? Is the essence of

10:11

this line repeated elsewhere in the pamphlet? Would Paine's message have been

10:16

any less effective if this line had not made the cut...Well as you read

10:22

onward and keep on journaling think about why this pamphlet was so important [Pamphlet asking why it was so important]

10:26

other than the fact that the men could use it to you know keep their cheeks

10:29

warm.. It was written for a bunch of guys who were long dead whether or

10:33

not they died in that sneak attack at Trenton so what do we care well if you

10:37

believe that Paine's words gave the troops the boost they needed to emerge [Troops firing rifles]

10:40

victoriously from battle then we might be able to blame our entire country's

10:43

independence on just a few little pages of text...

10:47

Also this thing is practically a master class when it comes to improving

10:50

someone's mood want to make your sister feel better about face-planting at her [Sister face plants on stage]

10:54

ballet recital yeah want to make your friend feel better about being picked

10:58

last for dodgeball....Want to make your dog feel better about the fact

11:03

that you didn't share your rawhide bone with him because you're kind of fat [Man with a rawhide bone]

11:06

shaming him and that's just evil yeah well might helps take few tips from the

11:10

master, he can make you feel so much better about things that there will be

11:13

no need to crisis over spilt milk....

Full Transcript