Thomas Paine’s Life – Flashcards

On January 29,1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. By the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. At the age of 19, Paine went to sea.It didnt last too long however and he returned to England 1768.

Thomas Paine was a pamphleteer, controversialist, and international revolutionary. Common Sense (1776) was a central text behind the call for American Independence.

Thomas Paine was born on the twenty-ninth of January 1737 at Thetford, Norfolk in England, as a son of a Quaker. After a short basic education, he started to work, at first for his father, later as an officer of the excise. During this occupation Thomas Paine was an unsuccessful man, and was twice dismissed from his post. In 1774, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who advised him to emigrate to America, giving him letters of recommendation.

Thomas Paine was an influential 18th-century writer of essays and pamphlets. Among them were "The Age of Reason," regarding the place of religion in society; "Rights of Man," a piece defending the French Revolution; and "Common Sense," which was published during the American Revolution. "Common Sense," Paine's most influential piece, brought his ideas to a vast audience, swaying (the otherwise undecided) public opinion to the view that independence from the British was a necessity.

'These are the times that try men's souls' is quoted by one of the famous founding fathers of American Revolution, Thomas Paine. He became one of the first individuals to campaign for a world peace organization and communicated his ideas about 'revolution' and 'independence' effectually, attracting large hordes of people. However, his deep-seated views of religion pulled him down in the eyes of the public and at the time of his demise, only a trickle few attended his funeral.

The radical propagandist and voice of the common man, Thomas Paine, was born in Thetford in Norfolk on January 29, 1737. His father, Joseph, was a poor Quaker corset maker who tried to provide his son with an education at the local grammar school but eventually was forced to apprentice him to his trade. Paine was unable to accept this occupation. After a short time at sea, Paine returned to his trade in Kent, but then served as an exciseman in Lincolnshire, followed by a stint as a school teacher in London, before he again settled down in 1768 as an excise officer in Lewes in East Sussex. For the next six years he combined his duties as excise officer with managing a small shop. In 1760, he first wife, Mary Lambert, died in early labor and their child did not survive. In 1771 he married again. Neither marriage brought Paine much in the way of happiness. He was legally separated from his second wife in 1774, just as he was about to embark for the American colonies.

Paine settled in Philadelphia where he soon began a new career as a journalist. He contributed articles to the Pennsylvania Magazine on a wide range of topics. Thus on January 10, 1776, he published a short pamphlet, Common Sense, which immediately established his reputation as a revolutionary propagandist. Although he had only been in America less than a year, Paine committed himself to the cause of American independence. He attacked monarchical government and the alleged virtues of the British constitution, opposing any reconciliation with Great Britain. He also urged an immediate declaration of independence and the establishment of a republican constitution. Paine was convinced that the American Revolution was a crusade for a superior political system and that America was ultimately unconquerable. He did as much as any writer could to encourage resistance and to inspire faith in the Continental Army. In essays published in the Pennsylvania Journal under the heading "Crisis," Paine attacked the faint-hearted, campaigned for a more efficient federal and state tax system to meet the costs of war, and encouraged the belief that Britain would eventually recognize American independence.

Thomas Paine was a Founding Father, the philosopher of the American War for Independence, and a true revolutionary. His essays and pamphlets, especially Common Sense, noted for its plain language, resonated with the common people of America and roused them to rally behind the movement for independence. Following the American Revolution, Paine immigrated to Europe where the British government declared him and outlaw for his anti-monarchist views, and where he actively participated in the French Revolution.

Quick Facts About Thomas Paine Born January 29, 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England Wrote, Case of the Officers of Excise, his earliest known prose composition and first important pamphlet, in 1772 Moved to Philadelphia in 1774 Became editor Pennsylvania Magazine in 1775 Wrote anti-slavery essay African Slavery in America in 1775 Published the pamphlet Common Sense in 1776 Enlisted in Continental Army in 1776 Published American Crisis I, the first of 16 American Crisis papers, in 1776. This work contains the famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls." Congress appointed Paine its Secretary to Committee on Foreign Affairs in 1777 Resigned as Foreign Affairs Secretary in 1779, as result of Silas Deane affair Returned to Europe in 1787, dividing his time between England and France Published part one of the Rights of Man, his reply to Edmund Burke's denunciation of the French Revolution, in 1791 Published part two of the Rights of Man in 1792 Condemned for his radical views, Paine was declared an outlaw and forced to leave England in 1792 Became a French citizen and was elected as a member of the National Assembly in France, in 1792 Helped write the Constitution of the Republic of France in 1792 Published part one of The Age of Reason in 1793 Imprisoned by Jacobins in 1793, during the Reign of Terror, for his moderate views regarding the treatment of Louis XVI Released from eleven-month imprisonment in 1793, with the help of James Monroe, the U.S. Ambassador to France Published part two of The Age of Reason in 1795 Returned to New York in 1802 Died June 8, 1809, New York City Buried on his farm in New Rochelle, New York Paine's remains were lost in an ill-conceived effort to inter him in England in 1819

Religion Thomas' parents each came from a different Christian religion. His mother, Frances, was a member of the Anglican Church. His father was a Quaker. The Quakers were looked down upon by most of English society. They fought for the rights of all people and considered all people equal before God. Thomas' parents often argued over religion and religion would shape a large part of his life. He wrote some of his essays on the subject. Some people say that he was an atheist who did not believe in God, but he actually stated many times that he did believe there was a God. The Quaker beliefs of his father would also influence Thomas' other writings and political beliefs.

During the Revolutionary War Paine became an assistant to General Nathaniel Green during the war. He also wrote several "crisis" papers that were distributed to the American troops in order to inspire them. He later worked as a clerk for the Pennsylvania General Assembly where he learned that the troops needed food and supplies. He began an effort to raise supplies for the troops including asking France for aid. After the Revolutionary War After the Revolutionary War ended, Paine went back to Europe and became involved in the French Revolution. He wrote Rights of Man in support of the French Revolution. He was even imprisoned for a time. Paine returned to the United States and died in New York City in 1809. He was not popular at the time and only a few people came to his funeral. Famous Thomas Paine Quotes "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." "Lead, follow, or get out of the way." "I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace." "Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it." "These are the times that try men's souls." Interesting Facts About Thomas Paine He nearly died of typhoid fever on his first trip to America. Paine was also an inventor. He received a patent for a bridge design and invented a smokeless candle. He wrote the Age of Reason later in life which criticized organized religion. His article titled Public Good argued that the Articles of the Confederation should be replaced with a Constitution that formed a strong central government. Paine's writings also influenced future Americans such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison.

Flight to America. He boldly called on Benjamin Franklin, who thought Paine might make a good "clerk, or assistant tutor in a school, or assistant surveyor" in Philadelphia. With this reference Paine landed in America in November 1774, determined to start his life anew. He found work with printer Robert Aitken, publisher of the Pennsylvania Magazine, which had six hundred subscribers. Within a few months Paine's vigorous literary style had attracted more readers, and circulation increased to more than fifteen hundred. Paine's essays called for an end not only to the slave trade but also to slavery, and he attacked British colonial policies both in America and in India. Encouraged by Franklin and Benjamin Rush to write a history of the dispute between England and her American colonies, Paine published Common Sense, on 10 January 1776.

*full timeline and photographs

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was a radical writer who emigrated from England to America in 1774. Just two years later, early in 1776, Paine published Common Sense, a hugely influential pamphlet that convinced many American colonists that the time had finally come to break away from British rule. No other figure played a greater role in moving the American people from a spirit of rebellion to one of revolution.

In Common Sense, Paine made a persuasive and passionate argument to the colonists that the cause of independence was just and urgent. The first prominent pamphleteer to advocate a complete break with England, Paine successfully convinced a great many Americans who had previously thought of themselves as loyal, if disgruntled, subjects of the king. In his pamphlet, Paine associated the corrupt monarchy with the despised taxation policy, persuading many readers to become proponents of the world's first republican government. Importantly, Paine was a master of transforming the complicated philosophical and scientific principles of the Enlightenment—individuality, reason, and liberty—into plain words that the masses could comprehend and rally around. Just as George Washington and his soldiers retreated across the Delaware River to the bitter winter encampment at Valley Forge, Paine wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Washington had this piece read aloud to his cold and starving soldiers. Paine went on to publish fifteen other Crisis pamphlets, participate in the French Revolution, and write his controversial work, The Age of Reason, in which he attacked organized religion. As a result of his atheism, Paine returned to America in 1802 to scorn and ridicule, and died in obscurity in 1809.

Thomas Paine was one of the most admired and respected men in America in 1776. Twenty years later, he was one of the most hated and vilified men in the country. What happened? He spoke his mind. Without hesitation, without spin, without polls, without compromise. All of you know two things that Tom Paine wrote. The first I will share with you in just a moment. They are eight words that you hear once a year but probably don't focus on the man who said it. The man who gave our country its official name died alone, shunned and despised, in a seedy hotel in New York City. During the Revolutionary War, almost every American soldier carried a copy of a pamphlet by Paine in his pocket. At George Washington's orders, his officers would read these words by Thomas Paine to the soldiers before a battle: "Oh, the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot, will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us: The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph."

Twenty years later, George Washington was silent as Paine awaited the executioner in a Paris dungeon. During America's struggle for freedom, John Adams said of Thomas Paine, "History will ascribe the revolution to him," so powerful were Paine's words in motivating the troops to fight on. In this century, Teddy Roosevelt said, "He was a filthy, rotten, little atheist!" He was none of these. Who was he? Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737. His mother was an Anglican. His father was a Quaker. His mother was years older than his father and considered her marriage to Tom's father a few steps down the social ladder. Tom's father was a corset-maker and Tom was his apprentice. Now if you were 16, and your father was preparing you for a life of making women's girdles, what would you do? Tom ran away from home. He tried to join the crew of a ship known as The Terrible, commanded by, and this is true, Captain Death. That was the man's name. Concerning the name of the ship, remember that 250 years ago the word Terrible implied strength and bravery, as in, "He fought a terribly good fight."

Thomas Paine is America's one great revolutionary theorist. We have produced a slew of admirable anarchists—Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman, Dorothy Day and Noam Chomsky—and radical leaders have arisen out of oppressed groups—Sitting Bull, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Cornel West and bell hooks—but we don't have a tradition of revolutionists. This makes Paine unique.

Thomas Paine's book, Common Sense, altered the course of history. Without it (and the impact it had on the American Revolution), it is doubtful that America would have won. At the beginning of the war, John Adams suggested that about a third of Americans supported Independence, about a third supported Britain, and about a third were undecided. He thought that only great leadership would swing the middle third to the side of freedom.

Three things provided this leadership: George Washington's strength as the commander Jefferson's words in the Declaration of Independence Thomas Paine's essay on Common Sense Of the three, Paine's impact came first, and without it the other two might never have had a chance. Paine was self-educated, from the working class, and failed in a long string of attempted businesses and careers. His main problem seems to be that he couldn't pull himself away from reading long enough to succeed in commerce or a job. During all his failures, as historian Page Smith put it: "...he had read history and political theory with the avidity of a starving man. "Things had seemed desperately wrong to him in England, and he had searched the books to try to find out why, and what might be done to change things for the better. He could not believe that God had intended that the rich should grind down the poor..." At age thirty-seven Paine left England to try out the New World, and he found a nation where the common man was still considered important. He found in the Americans a society that would listen to his message, the answer he had found for how to improve the world. His timing couldn't have been better. Paine's solution, pure "common sense" in his view, was that God did not intend some men to be masters and others to be their subjects. He meant for everyone to have equal freedoms and opportunities, and any law or government to the contrary was evil.