Thomas Paine Essay

 Andrew Stutts

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was a Colonial-American political activist, author, political theorist and revolutionary. This political writer dared to ask many questions that were punishable by death and in the process made great strides for the advancement of rationalism and liberty.  Thomas Paine is one of the most noteworthy political philosophers in history.  His profound ideas changed how people look at government, human rights, equality and justice. Thomas Paine was the muse for the American Revolution and most of his insights into political philosophy are acknowledged as conventional wisdom today.  

Thomas Paine is known for having the bravery and audacity to write the influential pamphlet Common Sense, which imparted the emotions of every colonist and energized their inherent longing for freedom.  America was under the burden of British control, a sovereignty that only had wealth in mind.  As the colonist’s rights were trodden on by the monarchy, bold thinkers appeared that would oppose the rule of these tyrants and their system of government. The most impressive of these intrepid intellectuals was Thomas Paine.  His writings were the catalyst that ignited the vision of an American nation independent of British rule and tyranny.  In Common Sense, he stated:

Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness. . . . The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. . . . Now is the seed-time of Continental union. . . . We have every opportunity and every encouragement before us to form the noblest, purest constitution on the face of the earth. . . . O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth!. . . . We have it in our power to begin the world over again. . . . The birthday of a new world is at hand.

-Thomas Paine, Common Sense (Paine) (Powell).

Lines like this stirred the colonist to action and gained momentum for the struggle of American independence.

Thomas Paine could logically be called the ordinary man’s philosopher. His essays were not on the esoteric, the complex, nor the obscure.  Instead, his compositions entailed the life and concerns of the colonists and those that sympathized with them.  He worked for reform in practically every area: educational, social, political, and philosophical but most importantly, in his writings, he demanded liberty for all.  The wonderful pamphlet collection of The American Crisis can still stir up sentiments of passion in even today's people.  George Washington had the first issue of this pamphlet read to his soldiers at Valley Forge. The opening lines are deeply moving:

               These are times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and

               the sunshine patriot will shrink from the service of their

               country; but he that stands now, deserves the love and thanks

                of man and woman … What we obtain too cheap, we esteem

               too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.

                Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it

               would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM

               should not be highly rated.

                        -Thomas Paine, The American Crisis (Paine, Vol. 1, I)(Nash)

While writing all of these pamphlets during the American Revolution, Thomas Paine did not accept any compensation for them. The knowledge they contained, he believe, like the path to freedom should be open to everyone.  Paine refused to let cost deny the colonists access to the principles of freedom and liberty.

Thomas Paine throughout his life demonstrated a consummate devotion and enthusiasm to liberty for all. When the American colonies needed encouragement to stand up for freedom, Paine authored the pamphlets that ushered in the American Revolution.  Paine convinced the American colonists that they had right and justice on their side in their struggle for independence.  In conclusion, Thomas Paine revealed that American freedom was wholly justified and stirred the common man to fight for his liberty.

 

Works Cited

Nash, David. "The Gain From Paine." History Today 59.6 (2009): 12-18. History Reference Center. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. EBook

Paine, Thomas. "The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Complete." EBook

Powell, Jim. "Thomas Paine, Passionate Pamphleteer for Liberty." Freeman. January (1996): n. page. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/thomas-paine-passionate-pamphleteer-for-liberty