Question

And is there any inhabitant in America so ignorant, as not to know . . . that this continent can make no laws but what the king gives it leave to; and is there any man so unwise, as not to see, that . . . he will suffer no law to be made here, but such as suit his purpose.

–Thomas Paine,
Common Sense,
1776

Which statement best explains what Paine says about the king?

He puts the interests of the colonists before his own when approving laws.
He allows the colonies to make their own laws.
He will only approve laws that are in his and Great Britain’s best interest.
He allows new laws to be made in the colonies.

Answer 1

He will only approve laws that are in his and Great Britain’s best interest.

Paine is arguing that the king controls which colonial laws are allowed and will permit only those that serve his purposes, not the colonists'.