Thomas Paine Essay

“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death”. This quote was said by Thomas Paine, and I believe it relates greatly to his manner of living. Most of Thomas Paine’s greatest accomplishments came through his writings. However, while, some his writings inspired passion, some also brought him great criticism. He had a grand vision for society: he was loyally anti-slavery, and he was one of the first to advocate for a world peace organization. He also was passionate about bringing social security for the poor and elderly to the table. But his radical views on religion would destroy his success, and by the end of his life, only a handful of people attended his funeral.
Thomas Paine produced many pamphlets in which made in infamous. The first pamphlet, however not nearly as successful as the some following, was entitled “The Case of the Officers of Excise” This was produced in 1798. At the time Paine moved to Lewes. This is where he was employed as an excise officer. This is where Paine became involved in local politics. He not only served on the town council but also established a debating club at a local inn. Paine upset his employers when he demanded a higher salary. Paine finally was fired after this episode, and he responded by publishing this pamphlet.
In 1776 he published his most famous pamphlet, entitled “Common Sense”. This was a pamphlet that attacked the British Monarchy and argued for American independence. Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. This was the best selling piece of work in the 18th century. This pamphlet caused a lot of outrage, and love, from many different types of people. For instance, one such attack, entitled Plain Truth, was from a person named James Chalmers. Chalmers called Paine a "political quack."
“The Crisis” was a series of pamphlets, published by Thomas Paine from 1776-1783 (during the American Revolution). This provided support to the patriot cause, but slandered the loyalists. The first pamphlet of the collection opened with a line that was very similar to that of Thomas Paine’s life- “These are the times that try men's souls”. This relates to Thomas Paines life because he was really good at stirring the hearts of the fledging United States during his lifetime, which definitely identifies with the revolutionary war,
During Thomas Paine’s lifetime he published two very influential books. The first powerful book was entitled “The Rights of Man” (1971). It was written as a reply to Edmund Burke’s infamous novel (that gained more attention than Thomas Paines novels) “Reflections on the Revolution in France”. “The Rights of Man”, basically embodies the ideas of liberty and human equality. Many of the ideas in the book come from the concepts of the Age of Enlightenment and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. This put England in quite in uproar. At this point in time Thomas Paine left for France. This came at the perfect timing because this was around the time when Thomas Paine was put on trial and convicted for seditious libel against the crown. He later published the same book for a more reasonable price so more working class people could buy it in France.
The second book that he published was entitled “The Age of Reason”. This is the last book he wrote. This book centers almost entirely around Christianity. To Thomas Paine, it made sense to question everything in order to make valid answers possible. He puts forth many questions in this book regarding Christianity, confronting many beliefs with pure and rational reason. This book basically challenges the inerrancy of the bible. This book was inexpensive, was it was able to get into the hands of less-elite people. More people bought it. This book inspired many British freethinkers of the nineteenth Century. This book did not bring nearly as much controversy as those of the past decades.
Paine remained in America until 1802 when he returned to the United States, on an invitation from Thomas Jefferson. He returned during the second great awakening, which was a time of great political partnership. Upon his return to America not that many people were fond of him. The religious people hated him because of “The Age of Reason.” The Federalists attacked him for his views on government depicted from “Common Sense”.
Seven years later, in 1809, Thomas Paine died. Only 6 people attended his funeral. This is because one by one his closest friends soon abandoned him. Two of the six people were of African descent, which was widely looked down on at the time. People said that they were most likely freedmen who had much gratitude towards Paine. Supposedly, years later, a radical named William Cobbett dug up his bones in order for them to be shipped back to England so a more “fitting” funeral could come about. Twenty years later, when William died, the bones were still among his possessions. No body had any clear idea about the whereabouts of these bones, but people have sworn to having some part of Thomas Paine- a leg, or a skull.
It can definitely be said that Thomas Paine lived a very productive life. Despite the fact that few actually attended his funeral, it probably can’t be said that many people appreciated his creativity at the time. “The Age of Reason” was probably the one book that definitely completely diminished Thomas Paine’s successful life. Thomas Paine was an amazing guy with a lot of knowledge that never went wasted.
Works Cited
"Thomas Paine." Wikipedia. 6 Jan. 2008. Wikimedia. 6 Jan. 2008 .
"Tom Paine." Spartacus. 6 Jan. 2008 .