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Thomas Paine: founding father, inspirational writer, and American revolutionary was described by R. L. Duffus as "He represents in many ways the highest idealism, the deepest faith of the eighteenth century, translated brilliantly into journalistic terms and sustained by character as unselfish as Washington's own." (“Paine, Thomas” n.p.) This statement is fitting to this man who would be a modern day journalist considering that Paine was idealistic in his best-selling pamphlet of the eighteenth century, “Common Sense”. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was closely associated with the Enlightenment movement, which lasted throughout the 18th century and most important themes included change and reason (“Age of Enlightenment” n.p). Rationalism, secularism, tolerance, utilitarianism, self-confidence, and optimism were all sub themes of the movement that thinkers tried to apply reason and common sense to throughout institutions and daily activities (“Age of Enlightenment” n.p). Thomas Paine’s method of developing arguments and influential writing style that spoke the language of the people helped to make his forty seven page pamphlet “Common Sense” successful in inspiring the American Revolution.
Thomas Paine did not freely decide to leave England for the Colonies, in fact he was discovered by Ben Franklin who took a special interest in Paine’s enjoyment of science which was enough to win his approval (“Paine, Thomas” n.p). Franklin then sent Paine, who had no money, to America to start a life and gave him a job through a letter of recommendation that he sent to his son-in-law Richard Bache (“Paine, Thomas” n.p). Had Franklin not taken a special interest in Paine, he may have never been sent over to the colonies. Had he not been sent over t...
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...push the people over the edge of revolt as he did in 1776 or will all that America was founded on be lost?
Works Cited
"Age of Enlightenment Review." Age of Enlightenment Review. Web. 07 May 2014.
"Paine, Thomas." American Authors, 1600-1900 (1938): Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 6 May 2014.
Sherwood, Martha A. "Common Sense." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 May 2014.
"Thomas Paine's Common Sense [ushistory.org]." 2008. 12 May. 2014
"Thomas Paine Quick Facts - American History Central." 2009. 12 May. 2014 http://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entry.php?rec=472&view=quick-facts
•Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.
By the age of twelve, Thomas Paine had flunked out of school. Then in the year 1768, Thomas Paine became a tax officer, and in the same year, he met Benjamin Franklin by coincidence and Benjamin Franklin Helped Thomas Pain move to Philadelphia. After moving to America Thomas Paine’s career started off. In 1776 he published his first work Common Sense and after that was released. “He traveled with the Conti nental Army and wasn’t a success as a soldier, but he produced The American Crisis (1776-83) which helped inspire the Army.” (Independence Hall Association 1995). Though Thomas Paine's career started in America and was successful he did not stay, "but instead of continuing to help the Revolutionary cause, he returned to Europe and pursued other ventures, including work on a smokeless candle and iron bridge” (Independence Hall Association
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
“Join, or Die.” “Don’t Tread on Me.” These are two mottos often used by Revolutionary supporters and fighters from about 1754 to 1783, and even sometimes today it is still used. These were battle cries that patriotic men would scream with all their might before charging onto the battlefield, where they might take their last breath. Nearly five thousand men gave their lives, for freedom’s sake. Their sacrifices were not done in vain, as the war was ended on September 3rd, 1783. This sense of victory and accomplishment is what lead these new Americans to further establishing their country, making their mark on history, and creating a new identity for themselves, as free men and woman.
Thomas Paine, in the pamphlet Common Sense, succeeded in convincing the indifferent portion of colonial society that America should secede from Britain through moral and religious, economic, and governmental arguments. Using strong evidence, targeting each separate group of people, Thomas Paine served not only to sway the public 's opinion on American independence, but also to mobilize the effort to achieve this ultimatum.
With America being as diverse as it is, people would think everyone is united, but is that completely true? Thomas Paine shows his view of America as being a harmonious country with no problems. Even though over the years America has become a lot more diverse, that does not signify, all of the sudden, we have become a problem-free nation, comparable to what Thomas Paine thinks. Every nation has difficulties, and that includes America. America is nowhere close to being a perfect nation, but some nations have a lot more conflicts than America; and we have been trying, over the years, to become closer as a stronger country. Even with diversity growing in America, supporting Paine's argument, the United States is not a complete, harmonious nation,
Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his pen and paper to urge the public to break free from Great Brittan. He wrote anonymously, yet addressed the public as he spoke out about his beliefs. The first pamphlet he published, influencing independence from Brittan, was called Common Sense
Paine had not entertained the idea of independence from Britain when he arrived in America. He thought it was “a kind of treason” to break away from Britain. It was not until the Battle of Lexington in 1775 that he considered “the compact between Britain and America to be broken” (Claeys). This idea of a broken compact allowed Thomas Paine to write a political pamphlet.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
That belief caused him to create a book about the age of reason. Thomas Paine had a powerful impact on colonist minds by creating “Common Sense”. Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet that helped cause the Continental Army to form, and to make a colonist turn against the British. He influenced the Americans to fight for their rights that the king had taken away from them; their natural born rights. Paine said “If Britain is our motherland, then why would she treat her kids badly?”
There is a fine line between treason and revolution, however when the two come up it very likely that the individual that is being of accused of either can go from one or the other in the blink of an eye. During the late 1700’s America was going through some of the most difficult times of its history. The struggle with Britain was becoming harder and those within the colonies were unsure what direction they wanted to take the colonies. Thomas Paine however knew exactly what direction he felt the colonies should go and that was to break away from Britain and become an independent nation from Britain all together. There was a crisis in America with no set rules or regulations to guide those that were living within its borders and Paine realized something had to be accomplished in order to keep the situation from getting out of control. Deifying the King of England was consider treason, but arming the American colonist with the knowledge that independence was the only way in which true freedom would ultimately could be achieved was a chance Paine was willing to take. Freedom and independence would come at a price, but the outcome would be the start of a new nation.
Thomas Paine was an activist for many causes throughout his lifetime including the abolition of slavery, government rule by democracy rather than a monarchy, and in later years about what he believed were falsehoods in the Bible. He was an advocate for freedom of the people and his writings were often controversial. He believed in democracy and leaned toward rule by the common man. After becoming a friend of Benjamin Franklin, he traveled to the colonies. While in the colonies his writings on the American Revolution caused him to become an enemy of the British Government. When he returned to Great Britain his writings as a proponent for the French Revolution caused him to have to flee to France to avoid arrest. His political stance in France eventually caused him to be imprisoned and he eventually had to flee again to the United States to escape long-term imprisonment. He traveled quite a bit and was able to see firsthand the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Thomas Paine was a gifted writer, and he was very devoted to his causes. He is extremely famous for his pamphlet Common Sense which he wrote about what he felt was the necessity for American independence and later had an input into the Constitution of the United States of America. There were a number of gifted male writers during this timeframe who wrote about the same issues, including Edmund Burke, so even though he was a revolutionary writer, he was not unique.
Thomas Paine is undoubtedly one of the most prolific founding fathers of the United States, albeit not in the manner most would expect from a founding father. Paine was not a drafter of the constitution, nor was he an early member of Congress or President of the United States. However, Paine did have a profound impact on society, not only in America, but also abroad. Often remembered for helping spur the American Revolution, yet not as often remembered for the other revolution in France. Two of the more famous writings from Paine are, of course, Common Sense and The Rights of Man, both of which were written during revolutionary times in separate countries. It goes without saying that when a revolution is taking place there will be many on both sides of the war; in both of these instances, Paine was the voice of the people and stood up for what was right regardless of the consequences. I posit Thomas Paine was the most influential man for revolution in America and France despite fear of backlash or imprisonment. In fact, near the end of his life Paine was not only imprisoned, but somehow evaded being beheaded as well. Thomas Paine was even more influential as a result of his extreme lack of self-interest and ability to stay true to the cause of his writings rather than wither away in fear.
Thomas Paine is known for many popular books in the eighteenth century America. Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737 and never step soul on America until he was the age of thirty-seven. His high intelligence and from the standpoint of the way Paine lived it shows that he was a stronger supporter of the revolution. As a child he went to grammar school until thirteen; nineteen he ran away from home to go too sea.
“Common Sense.” The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill , 2009. Print