Question

Select

the correct answer.
Which statement best describes Thomas Paine's argument in this excerpt from Common Sense?
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 wheat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become
a precedent for the next twenty. 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. 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.

A) He shows that while America earlier flourished because of Britain, it faces a bleak future if British rule continues.
B) He uses anecdotal evidence to imply that America faces a bleak future if British rule continues.
C) He refutes the idea that America depends on Britain, using the opinion that America's trade has a secure future.
D) He implies that America's connection to Britain had prevented it from engaging in trade with European countries.

Answer 1

Thomas Paine argues that America does not need to depend on Britain for its future happiness and prosperity.

Therefore, the correct answer is: option C) He refutes the idea that America depends on Britain, using the opinion that America's trade has a secure future.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomas Paine's argument in the excerpt from Common Sense refutes the notion that America's prosperity is inherently linked to its relationship with Great Britain.

Instead, Paine suggests that America would have flourished much more without any European interference, emphasizing the country's ability to trade necessities of life which will always find a market in Europe.

His underlying point is that just because something was beneficial in the past does not mean it will remain so, just as a child moves from milk to more substantial food as they grow.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is: He refutes the idea that America depends on Britain, using the opinion that America's trade has a secure future.