Changing positive statement to nagative statement using not

Yes at that time you need to use the opposites. For example:

The man is rich

The man is not poor

The most common way of turning a positive statement into a negative statement in English is to add the word not (or the contracted form -n't). In a declarative sentence, the word not is usually placed after a helping verb (such as a form of do, have, or be). Similarly, in less formal writing, the contraction -n't may be added to the helping verb.

Example: The police concluded that the security system had not been working properly.

Explanation:

in this text, paine use the word “ye” several times in order to  capture  the  attention of the colonists who   haven't understand the   importance and urgency of his cause. the word "ye" that is the plural of   "thou" is used to call the colonists attention and make the fight for the cause.

what does the teacher mean