He is best known as the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet that advocated for independence from Great Britain. Its blunt assessment rocked Revolutionary War America.
Sounds good, but later in life with the publication of "The Age of Reason," Paine didn't have much good to say about the Bible or all religions in general. He declared himself a Deist while saying the Bible could have been writing under the influence of a demon, as a way of controlling and providing wealth for churches. He certainly succeeded in alienating nearly everyone, including Washington, whom he thought incompetent. His funeral was barely attended. Quakers refused him burial among their plots, so he was interred on his farm, his bones dug up and later disappeared in the fog of history. Yet, his early words are still out there, blowing in the wind.
But then he wasn’t trying to convince a majority of the people to go to war to win their freedom in the later publication. He among others weren’t themselves very religious but understood the majority of people were and cleverly appealed to their understandings and emotional sensibilities. Very curious where Paine’s bones did end up. 🤔
Thank you Tara for this it would seem he knew what government rule would become as a necessary evil I do believe he would not be surprised by our government today. 😉
Thomas Paine's pamphlet entitled "Common Sense" is one that I would like to read. Some may view it as ancient history, but from these excerpts I find it intriguing.
Thomas Paine was certainly not afraid of making waves or enemies . At one time or another he was Extremely unpopular in both England and France and (later) even with some of the leading Patriots of the time.
He was a man of conviction with a flair for writing passionate and very Persuasive pamphlets on issues and ideas he felt strongly about . His opinions about organized religion, even
( especially?) today Will spark serious debate and consternation among even us
“ modern enlightened era “
folks ! He was a firebrand indeed - and a magnificent one for the cause ! 👌
🇺🇲 It always amazes me how well orchestrated this was... always the right people, (like Paine, Washington, Lafayette...) were at the right place, at the right time, with the right skills needed to make this Revolution successful.
Thank you Tara. I had forgotten about Thomas Paine and his immense contributions toward our declaring independence from the despot king of England.
"Common Sense", the pamphlet, must have been required reading at the time.
In fact, I would like to read each edition of that publication. Would it be possible for you to have a series of daily posts of the "Common Sense" pamphlets?
Your daily stories are my favorite read of each day.
It's not like the Federalist Papers where there is a series. It's just one text, but it got reprinted a lot. Here it is: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147
Ms Ross, as I understand it, after the revolutionary war, Paine continued to be a firebrand and got so radical that he was soon ostracized by the new government. Could you expand upon that?
Yeah, he wasn't exactly non-controversial. John Adams ended up writing a sort of rebuttal to Common Sense. (He agreed with independence, but didn't like some of Paine's other ideas.) I can think about about how to do a part two of the post. :)
Thomas Paine was a great man who kicked off the FREEDOM movement in America! His word spread across the country and gave Freedom From Tyrants a reason to fight for Freedom!
What insightful thinking. You could replace “monarch” with “politician” and the shoe still fits.
Noteworthy that he aimed his writing at those familiar with the principles of the Bible to frame his argument.
Yes, I thought so, too.
Sounds good, but later in life with the publication of "The Age of Reason," Paine didn't have much good to say about the Bible or all religions in general. He declared himself a Deist while saying the Bible could have been writing under the influence of a demon, as a way of controlling and providing wealth for churches. He certainly succeeded in alienating nearly everyone, including Washington, whom he thought incompetent. His funeral was barely attended. Quakers refused him burial among their plots, so he was interred on his farm, his bones dug up and later disappeared in the fog of history. Yet, his early words are still out there, blowing in the wind.
But then he wasn’t trying to convince a majority of the people to go to war to win their freedom in the later publication. He among others weren’t themselves very religious but understood the majority of people were and cleverly appealed to their understandings and emotional sensibilities. Very curious where Paine’s bones did end up. 🤔
He certainly was a good wordsmith, or as we would recognize today--a political spinner.
The Bible was probably the most common book found in many households of the time .
Common sense is not as common as it ought to be anymore!
Thomas Paine's book sure must have had a profound effect on our early citizens to rebel against the King of Britain. Thank you Tara!
Thank you Tara for this it would seem he knew what government rule would become as a necessary evil I do believe he would not be surprised by our government today. 😉
👍👍👍
We need him today
Thanks
I love your take on the reason Paine connected with average Americans
Today my goal is to search for this pamphlet. I hope it is in print. Our government could benefit from the passages.
Here you go: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147
Thank you Tara. Very nice of you.
Thomas Paine's pamphlet entitled "Common Sense" is one that I would like to read. Some may view it as ancient history, but from these excerpts I find it intriguing.
Here you go: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147
Thomas Paine was certainly not afraid of making waves or enemies . At one time or another he was Extremely unpopular in both England and France and (later) even with some of the leading Patriots of the time.
He was a man of conviction with a flair for writing passionate and very Persuasive pamphlets on issues and ideas he felt strongly about . His opinions about organized religion, even
( especially?) today Will spark serious debate and consternation among even us
“ modern enlightened era “
folks ! He was a firebrand indeed - and a magnificent one for the cause ! 👌
🇺🇲 It always amazes me how well orchestrated this was... always the right people, (like Paine, Washington, Lafayette...) were at the right place, at the right time, with the right skills needed to make this Revolution successful.
Makes one wonder...🤔
Thank you Tara. I had forgotten about Thomas Paine and his immense contributions toward our declaring independence from the despot king of England.
"Common Sense", the pamphlet, must have been required reading at the time.
In fact, I would like to read each edition of that publication. Would it be possible for you to have a series of daily posts of the "Common Sense" pamphlets?
Your daily stories are my favorite read of each day.
It's not like the Federalist Papers where there is a series. It's just one text, but it got reprinted a lot. Here it is: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/147
Thank you Tara. My mistake. I assumed multiple editions meant progressive discussion. I love your work Tara.
Ms Ross, as I understand it, after the revolutionary war, Paine continued to be a firebrand and got so radical that he was soon ostracized by the new government. Could you expand upon that?
Yeah, he wasn't exactly non-controversial. John Adams ended up writing a sort of rebuttal to Common Sense. (He agreed with independence, but didn't like some of Paine's other ideas.) I can think about about how to do a part two of the post. :)
Sounds like he had an anarchist vein running through him.
Thomas Paine was a great man who kicked off the FREEDOM movement in America! His word spread across the country and gave Freedom From Tyrants a reason to fight for Freedom!
Thank you Tara!!