Thomas Paine: Difference between revisions

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1737-1809. Journalist, author, political pamphleteer, revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of the United States. His main works comprise Common Sense (1776), the Crisis papers (1776-1783), Rights of Man (1792) and The Age of Reason (1794-96). His writings inspired people, but also brought much criticism.

Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Norfolk, England as son of a poor Quaker family. At the age of 12 he left school, having acquired basic knowledge in reading, writing and arithmetic. First, he began an apprenticeship with his father, a corset maker; later he took over the profession of a tax officer. Paine, not satisfied with the low payment, argued for a pay rise for officers. As a consequence he was dismissed. He tried out several other occupations but was very unsuccessful. At this point in life, Paine made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin in London, who encouraged him to become a journalist and suggested him to emigrate to the American colonies.

In 1774, Paine arrived in Philadelphia, having barely survived the journey. He soon followed Franklin’s advice and became editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. Two years later he anonymously published Common Sense which became an immediate success at a time, when the question of independence was still not decided. Paine challenged the British government and monarchy. It was the first time someone openly asked for American independence. He used clear, plain language that the common people, the average man could easily understand.

After the War of Independence, in which Paine published the famous, patriotic Crisis papers to inspire the army, he returned back to Great Britain. Being persecuted by the British, Paine fled to revolutionary France. In 1791 he published Rights of Man, an answer to Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. Paine’s work clearly defended the French Revolution and republicanism and criticized monarchy.

In France he became a member of the National Convention. Under Robespierre Paine was imprisoned because of his loyalty to King Louis XVI, but freed in 1794. Between 1794 and 1796, Paine wrote The Age of Reason, which criticizes organised or institutionalised religion.

In 1802, Paine finally sailed back to America (where he was derided by the public) and died in New York City in 1809.

Sources

Maurer, Michael. Kleine Geschichte Englands. Bonn: Bpb, 2007.

"Thomas Paine." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 05 Nov. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/438489/Thomas-Paine>.

"Thomas Paine." Verfassungsgeschichte der Neuzeit Online. 12 Oct. 2009.Prof. Dr. Andreas Kley. 05 Nov.2009 <http://www.rwi.uzh.ch/elt-1st-kley/verfg/fr/de/html/paine_learningObject1.html>.

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 -1809. Journalist, author, political pamphleteer, revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of the United States. His main works comprise ''Common Sense'' (1776), the ''Crisis'' papers (1776-1783), ''Rights of Man'' (1792) and ''The Age of Reason'' (1794-96). His writings inspired people, but also brought much criticism.
-Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Norfolk, England as son of a poor Quaker family. At the age of 12 he left school, having acquired basic knowledge in reading, writing and arithmetic. First, he began apprenticing for his father, a corset maker; later he took over the profession of a tax officer. Paine, not satisfied with the low payment, argued for a pay rise for officers. As a consequence he was dismissed. He tried out several other occupations but was very unsuccessful. At this unhappy point in life, Paine made the acquaintance of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) in London, who encouraged him to become a journalist and suggested him to emigrate to the American colonies.
+Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Norfolk, England as son of a poor Quaker family. At the age of 12 he left school, having acquired basic knowledge in reading, writing and arithmetic. First, he began an apprenticeship with his father, a corset maker; later he took over the profession of a tax officer. Paine, not satisfied with the low payment, argued for a pay rise for officers. As a consequence he was dismissed. He tried out several other occupations but was very unsuccessful. At this point in life, Paine made the acquaintance of [[Benjamin Franklin]] in London, who encouraged him to become a journalist and suggested him to emigrate to the American colonies.
 In 1774, Paine arrived in Philadelphia, having barely survived the journey.  He soon followed Franklin’s advice and became editor of the ''Pennsylvania Magazine''. Two years later he anonymously published ''Common Sense'' which became an immediate success at a time, when the question of independence was still not decided. Paine challenged the British government and monarchy. It was the first time someone openly asked for American independence. He used clear, plain language that the common people, the average man could easily understand.