Thomas Paine

A Presentation on the Life and Legacy of the 18th

Century’s Most Remarkable

Champion of Liberty

Edward J. Dodson, M.L.A.Director, School of Cooperative Individualism

www.cooperativeindividualism.org

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

Arrival in North America

• 1774 -- Leaves England, arriving in New York, then to Philadelphia in the fall

• 1774 – Calls on Richard Bache, Ben Franklin’s son-in-law

• 1775 – Obtains position as editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine

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

Rebellion to Revolution

The Second Continental Congress

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

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.

Common Sense

• English radicals make sure their countrymen get to read Paine’s courageous pamphlet

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

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

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

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

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

Diplomacy

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

John Laurens

The British Face Going Home

• 1781 – Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia

The American Revolution is History

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

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

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

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

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

… 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

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

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