The American Crisis

Cultural  

1. A series of pamphlets written by Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War, in which Paine discussed issues of the revolution. The first pamphlet begins with a memorable statement: “These are the times that try men's souls.”

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Example Sentences

In the mid-1980s, the Soviets focused on one particular sore spot: the American crisis of homelessness.

From Slate

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland was wrapping up the Democrats’ case against former President Donald Trump when he cited Paine’s classic phrasing from a pamphlet called “The American Crisis.”

From Washington Times

They explained that a police officer in Kenosha, Wis., shooting Jacob Blake in the back seven times, and a teenager fatally shooting two protesters, had escalated the American crisis to a point where they had to stop.

From Los Angeles Times

While aggressively confronting the American crisis, he or she might create a global, emergency health financing mechanism to help developing countries meet their most urgent needs.

From Washington Post

And he’s central to the history of this little bar, which takes its name from his “The American Crisis” — and either the early 20th-century neighborhood restaurateur Romany Marie or Marie Dumont, the chanteuse who is said to have christened it.

From New York Times