Thomas Paine wrote The Crisis as inspiration for George Washington and the Continental Army when they were feeling great despair and that defeat was near. “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…. is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Using Source 6, what does Paine say that the American soldiers are fighting to rid themselves of?

A. The absence of government and absolute freedom of the individual

B. A system of government that is cruel and unfair

C. A limited group of people running the government

D. A system of government ruled by elected representatives