How did Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine support American nationalism?

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine were instrumental in shaping American nationalism by articulating a liberal, humanitarian vision that positioned the United States as a vanguard for liberty, equality, and individual rights.1

Thomas Paine

Paine served as a powerful propagandist for the colonial cause. His 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense, was a landmark in American political rhetoric; it reframed the conflict with Britain from a civil dispute over taxation into a moral struggle for independence. By using simple, direct language, Paine shattered the hope for reconciliation and galvanized public opinion toward the creation of a new nation. His subsequent work, The American Crisis, further sustained the revolutionary spirit during the war's most difficult periods.234

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson supported American nationalism through his foundational political writings and legal philosophy. He drafted the Declaration of Independence, which provided a seminal statement of American political culture by grounding the nation’s legitimacy in natural rights and the consent of the governed. Additionally, his earlier work, A Summary View of the Rights of British America, insisted on the autonomy of colonial legislative power, helping to define the American identity as distinct from British authority.54