<P> The pamphlet, read aloud to the Continental Army on December 23, 1776, three days before the Battle of Trenton, attempted to bolster morale and resistance among patriots, as well as shame neutrals and loyalists toward the cause: </P> <P> Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph . </P> <P> Along with the patriotic nature of The American Crisis, it displayed Paine's strong deist beliefs, inciting the laity with suggestions that the British are trying to assume powers that only God should have . Paine sees the British political and military maneuvers in the colonies as "impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God ." Paine states that he believes God supports the cause of the American colonists, "that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent". </P> <P> Paine takes great lengths to state that American colonists do not lack force, but "a proper application of that force"--implying throughout that an extended war could lead only to defeat unless a stable army was composed, not of militia, but of trained professionals . Paine maintains a positive view overall, hoping that this American crisis could be resolved quickly, "for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire ." </P>

Quote two important ideas from the american crisis number 1