Thomas Paine

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Thomas Paine

• A Presentation on the Life and Legacy of the 18th
  Centurys Most Remarkable Champion of Liberty

Edward J. Dodson, M.L.A. Director, School of
Cooperative Individualism www.cooperativeindividua
lism.org
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Who was Thomas Paine?

• Born, Thomas Pain in Thetford, England, in 1737
• Father was a member of the Society of Friends and
  a staymaker by profession
• Mother was a member of the Church of England

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Arrival in North America

• 1774 -- Leaves England, arriving in New York,
  then to Philadelphia in the fall
• 1774 Calls on Richard Bache, Ben Franklins
  son-in-law
• 1775 Obtains position as editor of the
  Pennsylvania Magazine

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Rebellion to Revolution

• 1775 In May, Franklin returns from England, the
  Second Continental Congress meets and the
  colonials send the Olive Branch Petition to
  George III

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Rebellion to Revolution

• The Second Continental Congress

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Paine Takes Sides

• 1775 In conflict with his publisher, Paine
  leaves the Pennsylvania Magazine
• 1775 He concludes the Colonials must separate
  from the British empire. In October, at the
  suggestion of Benjamin Rush, he begins to write a
  pamphlet in defense of the break with Britain

Benjamin Rush
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Common Sense

• As the pamphlet is read throughout the colonies,
  one of the leading rebels -- John Adams --
  responds with a more conservative treatise,
  Thoughts on Government. Adams calls for a balance
  of power in government.

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Common Sense

• English radicals make sure their countrymen get
  to read Paines courageous pamphlet

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Independence Declared, but Not Secured

• 1776 Paine joins General Nathanael Greene as
  his aide-de-camp. He takes on the role of war
  correspondent

1776 December The first crisis paper is
written and spread thru the colonies
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Victory or Death!

• 1777 Crisis No. 2 is addressed to Lord Howe,
  responding to proposals to settle the war
• 1777 April. He is appointed secretary to the
  Committee for Foreign Affairs
• 1777 Crisis No. 3 reviews American progress in
  the struggle for independence
• 1777 Battle of Brandywine occurs the British
  occupy Philadelphia

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Commitment and Intrigue

• 1778 Crisis No. 7 is addressed to the people of
  England
• 1778 Writes a series of essays promoting a new
  constitution for Pennsylvania
• 1778 Puts himself in the middle of the Silas
  Deane affair

Silas Deane
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Victory and the Legacy of War

• 1779 British military strategy shifts the
  conflict to the southern colonies, where the
  loyalist population is largest
• 1779 Crisis paper No.8 appears in February
• 1780 Subscribes to the new Bank of Pennsylvania
• 1780 Charleston falls to the British, and Paine
  responds in Crisis No.9

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Preparing for Nationhood

• 1780 The British continue to occupy New York
  City, and Benedict Arnold betrays the Colonials
• 1780 Paine offers direction on how the frontier
  lands ought to be treated in the pamphlet, Public
  Good

Benedict Arnold
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Diplomacy

• 1781 Paine accompanies John Laurens to France
  in an effort to secure French naval support and
  additional financial assistance

John Laurens
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The British Face Going Home

• 1781 Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington
  at Yorktown, Virginia

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The American Revolution is History

• 1781 The Abbe Guillaume Raynal completes his
  book, The Revolution in America. Paine responds
  before the years end with a critical review.

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Public Servant

• 1782 Is rewarded for his services with a
  position as a paid propagandist in the new
  Federal government, reporting to Robert Morris
• 1782 Comments on the unique nature and
  obligations of citizenship in the new nation and
  on what lies ahead

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Britain Makes Peace With Its Former Colonies

• 1783 November. The Treaty of Paris officially
  ends the war. Paine writes A Supernumerary
  Crisis, calling for a strengthening of the union
  between the states

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Parting Words

• 1785 In response to an escalating fight over
  the granting of a charter to the Bank of North
  America, he prepares a new pamphlet, Dissertation
  on Government the Affairs of the Bank and Paper
  Money

Robert Morris
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Severing Ties with Washington

• 1796 Paine writes an open letter to George
  Washington, blaming the U.S. President for his
  long imprisonment in France
• 1797 Napoleon Bonaparte calls on Paine, who
  provides Bonaparte with a plan on how to
  successfully invade England

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and Many Other Americans

• 1800 Paine writes to Jefferson that he is
  working on a third part to The Age of Reason
• 1802 A tentative peace is negotiated between
  Britain and France, providing an opportunity for
  Paine to sail for the United States

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A Forgotten Founding Father

• 1804 Sells part of his New Rochelle property
  for 4,000
• 1805 January. Comes to stay with William Carver
  in New York City for several months
• 1805 Fall. Most of his funds gone, he petitions
  Jefferson for a grant of land
• 1806 Spring. He is forced to sell his property
  in Bordentown, New Jersey and returns to New York
  City to board with William Carver

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A Forgotten Founding Father

• 1806 November. Returned to New Rochelle, Paine
  is not permitted to vote in a local election on
  the ground he is not a U.S. citizen
• 1806 He reports that his health is failing
• 1808 Paine is forced to sell his farm,
  receiving 10,000.
• 1809 He dies the morning of June 8th

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