Dec. 19, 1776 Thomas Paine, the anonymous author of the 1776 bestseller Common Sense that called for independence, publishes The American Crisis for the first time in the Pennsylvania Journal. Paine knew first hand that the army and independence were in crisis. “These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” http://ow.ly/i/eFcsc