Topic: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: 250 Years Later
When: Tuesday 1/13/2026 at 2:00 pm ET
Published 250 years ago, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense played a pivotal role in shaping public support for American independence. In this Constitutional Chat, we’ll examine why Paine’s arguments were so powerful, how his writing influenced the Revolutionary era, and why Common Sense continues to matter in civic discussions today.
Constitutional Chats are hosted by Janine Turner, Cathy Gillespie, student ambassadors, and experts who join us weekly to discuss hot-topic issues! The audience is not on camera, but you may ask questions!
Meet the Guest
Robert McDonald
Robert M. S. McDonald is Professor of History at the United States Military Academy, where he has taught since 1998. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia, Oxford University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his Ph.D. A specialist on Thomas Jefferson, the American Revolution, and the early republic, he is author of Confounding Father: ThomasJefferson’s Image in His Own Time (2016) and editor of Thomas Jefferson’s Military Academy: Founding West Point (2004), Light & Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Knowledge (2012), Sons of the Father: George Washington and His Protégés (2013), Thomas Jefferson’s Lives: Biographers and the Battle for History (2019), and (with Peter S. Onuf) Revolutionary Prophecies: The Founders and America’s Future (2021). He also edited and introduced a primary source reader titled The American Revolution: CoreDocuments (2019). He’s currently at work on two projects relating to the Declaration of Independence.
A native of Stratford, Connecticut, he and his family live in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York.