Thomas Paine
1737-1809 | Thetford, England & America
The corset-maker who ignited two revolutions with his pen. Thomas Paine arrived in America with nothing but a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin and wrote Common Sense - the pamphlet that convinced colonists to declare independence. His American Crisis papers sustained Washington's army through the darkest winter. He then crossed to France to participate in that revolution too, barely escaping the guillotine. His Age of Reason attacked organized religion; his Rights of Man defended the people against kings. He died forgotten, but his words ring eternal.
Paine's Works
Revolutionary pamphlets and political philosophy"These are the times that try men's souls."
- The American Crisis
"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."
- Rights of Man
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- The American Crisis
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
- The American Crisis
"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
- Common Sense