There is a fine line between treason and revolution, however when the two come up it very likely that the individual that is being of accused of either can go from one or the other in the blink of an eye. During the late 1700’s America was going through some of the most difficult times of its history. The struggle with Britain was becoming harder and those within the colonies were unsure what direction they wanted to take the colonies. Thomas Paine however knew exactly what direction he felt the colonies should go and that was to break away from Britain and become an independent nation from Britain all together. There was a crisis in America with no set rules or regulations to guide those that were living within its borders and Paine realized something had to be accomplished in order to keep the situation from getting out of control. Deifying the King of England was consider treason, but arming the American colonist with the knowledge that independence was the only way in which true freedom would ultimately could be achieved was a chance Paine was willing to take. Freedom and independence would come at a price, but the outcome would be the start of a new nation. Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England to a Quaker family in 1737. It is very possible his own family understood even endured some of the same pressures and persecutions, which had caused many colonists to head to the America’s many years before. Paine was an apprentice in his father’s staymaker shop there in England. Paine continues in this business for a few years, but eventually works his way into a job as a person who handled taxes for the British government. Paine did not move to America until 1774, so during this time he would have read and heard ... ... middle of paper ... ...here may have been a secondary plan all along for Jefferson to have someone else draft it so that if there were complete overthrow or something disastrous someone else would take the fall. One cannot be certain of this, but it should be considered due in part to the language used throughout the documents, which lends itself to the writing style of Paine. History of course does not elaborate on this and there is no full proof evidence of this. Nevertheless, it is well understood that in the eyes of each and every American today that the forty-six pages penned by Thomas Paine were not words of treason nor rebellion, but words of independence and freedom. Works Cited Michael Mereanze, Laboratories of Virtue: Punishment, Revolution, and Authority 46 Pages, Scott Liell Common Sense, Thomas Paine Jack Fruchtman, Jr Thomas Pain: Apostle of Freedom
His exceptional writing and simple style reached many receptive ears across the Colonies. He also spoke plainly as was with de Crevecoeur yet tended away in his writing from the rural and the pleasant and more towards politics and the ugly truths that were part of colonial life. Consider his most famous work “Common Sense” it is an agitation against the crown of England, this would become a pattern with the man. In its most basic form “Common Sense” is a call to arms and revolution. It is also a great if very lengthy argument for what should happen after the war is won establishing a republic. “The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth. ’Tis not the affair of a city, a county, a province, or a kingdom; but of a continent—of at least one-eighth part of the habitable globe. ’Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age; posterity are virtually involved in the contest, and will be more or less affected even to the end of time by the proceedings now” (Paine 136). This is Paine’s original thoughts on the matter and his beginning argument. He continues with “We have boasted the protection of Great Britain without considering that her motive was interest, not attachment; and that she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account, from those who had no quarrel with us on any other account, and who will always be our enemies on the same account.” (Paine 137). It seems a pretty simple argument to the author that Americans are only entangled in foreign wars because of the association with Great Britain. He makes another assertion that “America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power taken any notice of her. The commerce by which she hath enriched herself are the necessaries of life, and will always have a market while eating is the custom of Europe.” (Paine 137). Paine’s call to a republic
Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine were the infrastructures are the Revolutionary movement against their father country, Great Britain. Patrick Henry was a Governor from Virginia, who became notorious for his presence as a persuasive orator in the Virginia House of Burgess. One of the most intricate works he utilized to get Congress on board for war spoke to the Convention on March 23, 1775, Speech to the Virginia Convention. He offered a proposition to the Convention as he saw them tilting towards a diplomatic approach but Henry saw that war was inevitable and they needed to bear down for the struggle. In contrast, Thomas Paine was blatant with his purpose for writing The Crisis, No. 1. Paine was a gun hoe political activist with a niche for radial pieces. His audience differed from Henry, who was appealing to Politicians and had to evoke the logical side to augment credibility amongst the Convention. Paine had to render the spirits of soldiers beaten and weary from the extended periods of war and brutal winter. Markedly, the soldiers endured bouts of depression provoked by a sense of defeat and loss of time with their families. Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine knew they had to conjure fighting spirits in the people, who have allowed domination by a country thousands of miles away. Henry and Paine had a proclivity to move people with graphic and thought-provoking works bursting with rhetoric and figurative language that awakened the souls of their diverse audiences to ignite the war for freedom.
For the first time, someone had sat down and written out the thoughts that the colonists had been brewing all throughout the past century. Paine themed his message around what became the mantra for the Revolution: Taxation without representation was despotic. Paine explored the wrongs committed by England, taking note to include why issues were counted as wrong and how they could be resolved. This listing of the grievances committed by England and the king was later mirrored by Thomas Jefferson in the drafting of the Declaration. In addition to nearly every colonist, nearly every Revolutionary radical leader read a copy. It became the most widely-read pamphlet of the Revolution and one of the most influential. Men and boys of all ages streamed to enlist in the Continental army, their hearts burning with lust for
The complex and remarkable life of Thomas Paine has greatly influenced his many writings. His style of writing also has caused him to become very popular and has helped him influence many people. Thomas Paine's common sense and hard life had a strong influence in his writing of "Common Sense." In his writing of the "Common Sense he demanded for a revolution. He wrote very simply and boldly so that all his readers would be able to read his writing. He fought for people's freedom as he had in his own life and because of his commitment "Common Sense" became the most widely and influential writings of that time. This became an inspiration to many people including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, which inspired him to write the Declaration of Independence. Paine wrote the "Common Sense" because he believed that the English had outgrown any need for English domination and should be given Independence. He was fighting for his country, which was England. In his writings he said "We have it in our power to begin the world over again." This meant that America was going through a new revolution and that it should start things off right from the start and that from the beginning freedom formed the essence of American nationalism. Thomas Paine's main idea behind his writing was that people should be open-minded and stand up for what they believed just like he did when he was young. His writing helped shape America.
Paine believed that America needed to break free of the British clutches. He spoke out against slavery and joined the army to help fight the war. He did not agree with hereditary monarchy and wrote another paper to argue this point (Franklin 321). Paine was very aware of his criticizers, and worked very hard to persuade them toward his way of thinking. In his pamphlet Common Sense he writes: "I have heard it asserted by some, that as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect"(Paine 323). Paine states the following argument: ."..for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and proba...
Thomas Paine was born on January 29th, 1737 in Thetford, England. He began working for his father at the age of 13 which is when his formal education ended. He became a tax-collector and began teaching himself to further his short-lived formal education. Paine was released from his tax-collecting job for pushing for higher wages stating that higher wages would reduce corruption (Claeys). A few months before the American Revolution began he moved to America after meeting Benjamin Franklin who urged him to move to America (Henretta and Brody).
Thomas Paine started life as a common man, but became a distinguished writer and devoted patriot. The son of a corset maker, Paine was more influenced by his father's religion than his work. His father's religious influence in combination with his study of science caused him to dislike Government based on hereditary privilege. Eventually, Paine immigrated to Philadelphia, gained more schooling, and became very acquainted with several advocates of political change (Foner 1). Paine's success had two origins. The first, and most well known, was his sympathy with the American plight. Paine disliked monarchy as did many other Americans. Secondly, his transcendentalist style of writing caused his writings to be quite unique making them all the more interesting to his readers. Paine died poor and alone after many of his views were considered too radical. However, history remembers him as one of the greatest contributors ...
When declaring independence, the bulk of the people thought that would be “…to burn the last bridge, to become traders in the eyes of the mother country.” (Garraty 110). John Dickinson had stated, “ ‘Torn from the body to which we are united by religion, liberty, laws, affections, relation, language and commerce, we must bleed at every vein.’ “ (Garraty 110). The people were afraid to break away, they pondered “ ‘Where shall we find another Britain.’ “ (Garraty 110). Eventually independence was inevitable. There was a great mistrust towards both Parliament and George III when the colonists heard that the British were sending hired Hessian soldiers to fight against them in the revolution. The pamphlet written by Thomas Paine entitled Common Sense called boldly for complete independence. This reflected his opinions on George III, calling him a brute, and also attacking the idea of monarchy itself. “Virtually everyone in the colonies must have read Common Sense or heard it explained and discussed.” (Garraty 110). John Adams dismissed it as something he had said time and time again. “The tone of the debate changed sharply as Paine’s slashing attack took effect.” (Garraty 110). A committee was appointed by Congress, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and many more. “The committee had asked Jefferson to prepare a draft” that would soon become known as the Declaration of Independence. (Garraty 112). It consisted of two parts: an introduction which justified the abstract right of any people to revolt and described the theory on which the Americans based their creation of a new, republican government, and a second part that made George III, rather than Parliament, look like the ‘bad guy’. “…The king was the personification of the nation against which the nation was rebelling.” (Garraty 112). “The Declaration was intended to influence foreign opinion, but it had little immediate effect outside Great Britain, and there it only made people angry and determined to subdue the rebels.
Thomas Paine was an activist for many causes throughout his lifetime including the abolition of slavery, government rule by democracy rather than a monarchy, and in later years about what he believed were falsehoods in the Bible. He was an advocate for freedom of the people and his writings were often controversial. He believed in democracy and leaned toward rule by the common man. After becoming a friend of Benjamin Franklin, he traveled to the colonies. While in the colonies his writings on the American Revolution caused him to become an enemy of the British Government. When he returned to Great Britain his writings as a proponent for the French Revolution caused him to have to flee to France to avoid arrest. His political stance in France eventually caused him to be imprisoned and he eventually had to flee again to the United States to escape long-term imprisonment. He traveled quite a bit and was able to see firsthand the American Revolution and the French Revolution. Thomas Paine was a gifted writer, and he was very devoted to his causes. He is extremely famous for his pamphlet Common Sense which he wrote about what he felt was the necessity for American independence and later had an input into the Constitution of the United States of America. There were a number of gifted male writers during this timeframe who wrote about the same issues, including Edmund Burke, so even though he was a revolutionary writer, he was not unique.
I believed Paine had an advantage by not being born in the colonies. This was because he had witness the oppressive nature of the crown in Britain and wanted nothing to do with it, except to overthrow it. Paine was rooted as an advocated for the British colonies' cost.
Thomas Paine is undoubtedly one of the most prolific founding fathers of the United States, albeit not in the manner most would expect from a founding father. Paine was not a drafter of the constitution, nor was he an early member of Congress or President of the United States. However, Paine did have a profound impact on society, not only in America, but also abroad. Often remembered for helping spur the American Revolution, yet not as often remembered for the other revolution in France. Two of the more famous writings from Paine are, of course, Common Sense and The Rights of Man, both of which were written during revolutionary times in separate countries. It goes without saying that when a revolution is taking place there will be many on both sides of the war; in both of these instances, Paine was the voice of the people and stood up for what was right regardless of the consequences. I posit Thomas Paine was the most influential man for revolution in America and France despite fear of backlash or imprisonment. In fact, near the end of his life Paine was not only imprisoned, but somehow evaded being beheaded as well. Thomas Paine was even more influential as a result of his extreme lack of self-interest and ability to stay true to the cause of his writings rather than wither away in fear.
England was a powerful kingdom ran by a strong King name William the Conquer. King William felt as if what he says goes, and this made the Americans furious because they had no say so in the government. Thomas Paine then came along a smart and intelligent guy who made Americans realize that one does not need to be part of the England society lets succeed away from their laws and be independent. Knowing his audience well, Thomas Paine used many biblical allusions to encourage revolution in his classic pamplet Common Sense.
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was a powerful and successful propaganda weapon used to promote his idea of independence from Britain. In order to prove that seeking independence was necessary at this time in history, Paine wrote about the relationship between society and government, his opinions about the British monarchy and the King, and the freedoms he believed had been stolen from the colonists. Common Sense was written in terms that were easily relatable to the colonist of this time period. After they finished reading his work, many colonists’ opinions about the British were swayed by his strong words. Even though Paine arrived in America quite late, he was able to make a significant difference by changing the colonists’ views, which ultimately
The U.S. Constitution defines “treason” as shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort (). Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation. Treason is considered one of the highest national security crimes and that is because of the effects it could have on a nation. The structure of the national security main mission is to protect the people and the country that we live in. However, under the Constitution, it is not sufficient to simply levy war against the United States or to give aid and comfort
Thomas Paine a widely known author during the 18th century America, known for his persuasive rhetorician for the cause of independence. Paine was born in England and he did not come to America until he was thirty-seven years old when right when the rebellion was coming into view. During this time Paine was a supporter for this Revolution. Paine received many political appointments as reward for his duty as a writer for the American cause. Throughout his writings, Paine 's main goal was to define his own belief for American Liberty but many people viewed that as an attack on Christianity. Thomas Paine had many popular writings throughout this time but to name one that concentrated on the ideals of liberty was “The Crisis, No. 1”. In the writing