Thomas Paine

Who Was Thomas Paine?

Thomas Paine was a prominent 18th-century political writer and revolutionary whose works significantly influenced the course of history. Among his most well-known writings are The Age of Reason, which explores the role of religion in society; Rights of Man, a defense of the French Revolution; and Common Sense, which played a pivotal role in shaping public opinion during the American Revolution. Common Sense, Paine’s most influential pamphlet, effectively swayed a divided American public to support the cause of independence from Britain, making it a cornerstone of revolutionary thought.

Early Life

Born in 1737 in Thetford, England, Thomas Paine was the son of a Quaker father and an Anglican mother. Despite his limited formal education, Paine acquired literacy skills and a basic understanding of arithmetic. At the age of 13, he began working with his father as a stay maker in Thetford, a town known for its shipbuilding industry. While some sources have mistakenly described him and his father as corset makers, most historians dismiss this as slanderous misinformation spread by his detractors.

Paine’s early career was marked by a series of struggles. He worked briefly as an officer of the excise, tasked with hunting smugglers and collecting taxes on liquor and tobacco. However, he was not successful in this role, nor in any other early endeavors. His life in England was marred by personal and professional failures, including the tragic death of his wife and child during childbirth around 1760, followed by the collapse of his business.

In 1772, Paine published The Case of the Officers of Excise, a 21-page pamphlet advocating for higher pay for excise officers. This was his first foray into political writing. Over the winter, he distributed 4,000 copies of the pamphlet to members of Parliament and others in London. However, by the spring of 1774, Paine had been dismissed from his excise position, and his outlook seemed bleak. It was then that he met Benjamin Franklin, who encouraged him to relocate to America and provided letters of introduction, setting the stage for Paine’s transformative contributions to the American Revolution.

The Move to America

Thomas Paine arrived in Philadelphia on November 30, 1774, marking the beginning of his significant contributions to American political thought. In January 1775, he began his first regular employment, assisting in the editing of The Pennsylvania Magazine. During this period, Paine embarked on his writing career, producing several articles under various pseudonyms. Among his early works was a scathing critique of the transatlantic slave trade, titled “African Slavery in America,” which he signed as “Justice and Humanity.” This early piece reflected Paine’s growing ideological commitment to issues of revolution and social justice.

By the time Paine settled in America, tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain were escalating, providing a fertile ground for his ideas on revolution. The growing conflict between the colonists and England had reached a critical point, and Paine’s arrival positioned him perfectly to contribute to the revolutionary discourse.

Within five months of his arrival, Paine’s views would be put into action. Following the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775—marking the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War—Paine argued that the colonies should not merely protest British taxation, but demand full independence from Great Britain. This argument culminated in Common Sense, a 50-page pamphlet published on January 10, 1776.

‘Common Sense’

Common Sense was written in a direct, accessible style that called for immediate action. Paine’s pamphlet made a powerful argument for the colonies to break free from British rule, presenting a case for full-scale revolt at a time when many Americans remained undecided. While its influence on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence may have been indirect, Common Sense played a pivotal role in galvanizing public opinion. It forced the issue of independence into the public sphere, sparking widespread debate and making the necessity of revolution undeniable.

Paine’s straightforward approach, avoiding complex philosophical jargon and Latin references, appealed directly to ordinary Americans. He used biblical allusions to connect with the common man, much like a preacher delivering a sermon. The pamphlet became an immediate success, selling more than 500,000 copies in just a few months. In doing so, Common Sense provided the intellectual and emotional impetus for the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified on July 4, 1776.

‘Crisis’ Papers

During the Revolutionary War, Paine served as a volunteer personal assistant to General Nathanael Greene, traveling with the Continental Army. While not a natural soldier, Paine’s true contribution lay in his ability to inspire. His 16 Crisis papers, written between 1776 and 1783, played a crucial role in bolstering the morale of the American troops. The first of these papers, The American Crisis. Number I, was published on December 19, 1776, and opened with the famous line, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” At a moment when General George Washington’s forces were struggling, Paine’s words provided a rallying cry. Washington had the pamphlet read aloud to his troops at Valley Forge in the hope of invigorating them and reinforcing their resolve in the face of adversity. Paine’s writings, both in Common Sense and the Crisis papers, became essential tools in the struggle for American independence.

Government Appointment

In 1777, Thomas Paine was appointed secretary to the Committee for Foreign Affairs by the Continental Congress. However, his tenure was short-lived. In 1778, Paine accused a member of Congress of attempting to personally profit from French aid to the United States. He disclosed the scandal by quoting from confidential documents he had accessed in his official capacity. Around the same time, Paine referenced secret negotiations with France in his pamphlets, which were not suitable for public knowledge. These actions led to his expulsion from the committee in 1779.

Paine soon secured a new position as clerk of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. He quickly identified significant dissatisfaction among American troops, who were suffering from inadequate pay and shortages of supplies. Paine spearheaded efforts both domestically and in France to raise the necessary resources, which proved critical to the success of the Revolution. His experience during this period further fueled his advocacy for a strong central government, culminating in the 1780 pamphlet Public Good, in which he called for a national convention to replace the ineffective Articles of Confederation with a more powerful constitution.

Thomas Paine’s Books: Rights of Man and The Age of Reason

In April 1787, Paine returned to England, where he became deeply engaged with the unfolding French Revolution. A staunch supporter of the Revolution, he responded vehemently to Edmund Burke’s 1790 critique with his own work, Rights of Man (1791). This book not only defended the French Revolution but also criticized European society’s structural inequalities, particularly its aristocratic system and inheritance laws. The British government banned the book and charged Paine with treason, though by the time the indictment was issued, he was already in France and evaded prosecution. Paine was subsequently named an honorary citizen of France.

While supporting the Revolution, Paine also advocated for a more moderate approach to King Louis XVI, favoring his exile over execution. However, when radical factions led by Robespierre gained control, Paine was imprisoned from December 28, 1793, to November 4, 1794, narrowly escaping execution. During his imprisonment, The Age of Reason (1794) was published, challenging institutionalized religion and critiquing the Bible’s authenticity. The work sparked significant controversy and led to prosecution for anyone attempting to distribute it.

After his release in 1794, Paine remained in France, completing the second and third parts of The Age of Reason. He later returned to the United States at the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson.

Engineer and Inventor

Paine was also an accomplished, albeit lesser-known, inventor. While many of his ideas remained theoretical, some of his creations left a lasting impact. Among his inventions were a crane designed for lifting heavy objects, a smokeless candle, and experiments with gunpowder as a potential power source. Paine’s fascination with bridges led him to design several, both in America and England, post-Revolution. His most notable engineering achievement was the Sunderland Bridge across the Wear River in England. Completed in 1796, this 240-foot iron bridge was the second of its kind and, at the time, the longest in the world. It remained in use until 1927, when it was replaced after being renovated in 1857.

Final Years

When Paine returned to the United States around 1802, his revolutionary influence had largely faded, and his reputation had been overshadowed by his reputation as a controversial figure. It would take more than a century for his contributions to the American Revolution to be properly acknowledged.

Death

Thomas Paine passed away alone on June 8, 1809, with only six mourners at his funeral, half of whom were formerly enslaved. In his obituary, the New York Citizen encapsulated his tarnished legacy, stating, “He had lived long, did some good and much harm.” For over a hundred years after his death, Paine’s legacy was widely regarded with disdain. However, in January 1937, the Times of London reversed this perception, referring to Paine as the “English Voltaire,” a description that has since shaped the current understanding of Paine as a pivotal figure in the American Revolution.