Thomas Paine: America's First Liberal

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The pamphlet “Common Sense” written by Thomas Paine demanded attention. However, there were both negative and positive opinions concerning the pamphlet and its creator. Some authors were receptive to the ideologies presented by Paine and his pamphlet while others contested them. Either way, grasping an impartial account of Paine’s works is conceivably a challenging task when many have opposing views. Furthermore, the individual interpretations of each increase the difficulty level in arriving at a conclusion with utmost objectivity. Of course one prefers to make a decision regarding Paine’s contributions to society as one that does not include personal prejudices. However, it proves to be problematic in that the works I selected to review were not absent from certain biases. Moreover, I gathered a …show more content…

Woodson concerning the book titled “Thomas Paine: America’s First Liberal” by S.M. Berthold. The article also focuses on presenting Paine and his contributions in early American history. Woodson (1938) offers his perspective on a review of collections by Paine and identifies Paine as “America’s first liberal” (p. 489). The pamphlet “Common Sense”, persuaded and inspired citizens to seek out independence (Woodson 1938, p.487). Furthermore, “Common Sense” instilled a “powerful change in the minds of many men” as cited by Woodson (p.487). Additionally, Woodson (1938) explained how “Common Sense” was indeed a “celebrated pamphlet which prepared the minds for declaring independence” (p.487). Paine impacted history in such a way that stimulated people and their emotions. Paine educated people and offered them assurance that it was okay to represent and think for themselves. Overall Paine was able to make a strong connection with the citizens of the colonies is what I gathered from this text. This particular journal adequately gives credit to Paine but a sense of personal favoritism appears to exist as

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