Thomas Paine

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Background and Biography (1737-1802)

“If one word can characterize the first half of Tom Paine’s life that word is failure” – Milton Meltzer

Born January 29, 1737, in Thetford, Norfolk in England.
Thomas Paine
Tom’s mother was the daughter of a wealthy Anglican socialite while his father was the son of a shoemaker.
Briefly schooled and then unemployed unsuccessfully for a time. In 1774, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who encouraged him to emigrate to America.
Arrived in Philadelphia and began working for a publishing company and publishing his essays (the first of which was on African Slavery.)
During the revolutionary war he volunteered for the army and wrote his 16 famous “The Crisis” essays.
In 1787, after serving the continental congress, Paine went to England to raise money for a bridge he had designed. After becoming highly involved in the French revolution, he published Rights Of Man.
Jailed in France in 1793 for voting against an execution. Upon release, he remained in France until 1802 when he was invited back to America by Thomas Jefferson.
He was regarded in America as a failure and following his death the newspapers published the following epitaph: “He had lived long, did some good and much harm.”

Major Works

Common Sense (1776)

Published in 1776 and distributed as a pamphlet all around colonial America. Paine argued that England/American independence was inevitable because of the rift that had developed between the two countries. He based his arguments on “nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense.” Paine argued that a government could be just only when it was representative of the people, dictated by elections. He called for a declaration of independence and his pamphlets of Common Sense, which sold over 500,000 copies, were seen as a major influence on Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the document.

Quotes

“Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one”
“The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth [American Independence]. ‘Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom, but of a continent…”

The Crisis (1776-1783)

16 influence essays written during the Revolutionary War, published between 1776 and 1783. Paine wrote the essays during the despairing periods of the war to keep American spirits high. The first one was ordered to read aloud by George Washington the evening before he led a successful charge upon the British by crossing the Delaware, and most people support the idea that his revolve was a result of Paine’s essay. Newspapers around the country picked up and published the essays which have been hailed by biographers as among the most important ever written.

Quotes

“These are times that try men’s souls…”
“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.”

The Rights of Man (1791)

Published in 1791. A response to former-reformer Edmund Burke’s attack on the French revolution. Paine used his skills to appeal to the entire English population, instead of Burke who chose to address haughty circles of elitists. He used powerful language that captured readers’ attention. He showed the French revolution as undeniably important and progressive to society. He pointed out how broad French suffrage was in comparison to the English system. He retaliated against Burke’s argument that history shouldn’t be tampered with. His main argument throughout the work was an expansion of the idea laid down in Common Sense: that the government out to be responsive to the people and part of the people.

Quotes

“Every age and generation must be free to act for itself in all cases as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies…”

Sources

Paine, Thomas. Common Sense and The Crisis.
Leemhius, Benni. “A biography of Thomas Paine (1737-1809)”. From Revolution to Reconstruction. Copyright 1994-2003. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/tpaine/paine.htm

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