Which sentence in the excerpt supports the claim that the American colonies could thrive independently from Britain?
Common Sense

by Thomas Paine (excerpt)

I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect. Nothing can be more fallacious than this kind of argument. We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent. a.) I have heard it asserted by some, that as America hath flourished under her former connection with Great Britain that the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect.
b.) We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty.
c.) But even this is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had any thing to do with her.
d.) The commerce, by which she hath enriched herself, are the necessaries of life, and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe.

"But even this is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had any thing to do with her" is the sentence that supports the claim that the American colonies could thrive independently from Britain. The correct option among all the options that are given in the question is the third option or option "C".

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francocanacari francocanacari · Answer 2 · 2019-02-12T21:00:13+01:00

The sentence that supports the claim that the American colonies could thrive independently from Britain is C, since in this it affirms that the United States would have progressed much more without a dominating metropolis: "But even this is admitting more than is true, for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power had any thing to do with her."

Common sense was an essay written by Thomas Paine. It was published for the first time on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution.

The essay exercised a great influence on public opinion during the War of Independence of the United States, presenting an argument against British rule at a time when the independence issue still caused suspicion and indecision in large part of the settlers. Historian Gordon S. Wood describes Common Sense as "The most incendiary and popular pamphlet published during the revolutionary stage."

The essay affirmed that the North American colonies had no relation with its metropolis, whose only purpose was to exploit its riches, and that any sensible analysis would conclude with the need to obtain the independence of the public domain and the own republican government.