Question

Select the correct text in the passage.

Examine the usage of the words bequeath and posterity in this excerpt from Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Then complete the sentences that
follow
The authority of Great Britain over this continent, is a form of government, which sooner or later must have an end: And a serious mind can
draw no true pleasure by looking forward, under the painful and positive conviction that what he calls "the present constitution" is merely
temporary. As parents, we can have no joy, knowing that this government is not sufficiently lasting to ensure any thing which we may bequeath
to posterity.
According to Paine, the government of Great Britain will bequeath nothing that will endure
He also implies that the posterity
to the colonists?

Answer 1

Thomas Paine's Common Sense criticizes the British government's inability to secure a prosperous future for colonial posterity, implying a need for a new government aligned with the Enlightenment principles of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Paine's Common Sense asserts that the government of Great Britain will bequeath nothing lasting to the colonists, illustrating a belief that the governance in place was temporary and incapable of securing a prosperous future for coming generations. He suggests that the posterity will inherit nothing of value from this form of government. Paine's writings, alongside the Declaration of Independence, argue that when a government fails to secure the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, it is the right of the people to establish a new government. These views were fundamental to the American Revolution and the eventual establishment of a government based on Enlightenment principles.