Thomas Paine

            Thomas Paine, commonly known as the Revolutionary Pamphleteer, wasn’t always writing about his opinions. He was born on January 29, 1737 in the quiet town of Thetford, England. Paine tried corset making, tax collecting and English teaching as possible careers, but he was eventually fired from all jobs. During his job as tax collector, he wrote his first pamphlet, Case of the Officers of Exise, as an appeal to Parliament for higher salaries. After losing these jobs, Paine decided to start conducting his own scientific experiments. While performing his scientific experiments, he met Ben Franklin, who later encouraged him to move to America. Paine took Franklin’s advice and arrived in Philadelphia on November 30, 1774.

Paine arrived in America at the peak of the American Revolution and quickly desired to write about it. Paine became the editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine and doubled its subscriptions. Paine wrote about his disdain for aristocracy, pomp and power, and even American slavery. He began to hear people discuss their fear of the British army and navy and took it upon himself to write the pamphlet Common Sense, anonymously. He countered Americans fears and wanted to save them from tyranny. Common Sense made Americans reconsider the cause that angered them through Paine’s clear and direct writing style.

In July of 1776, Paine enlisted in the militia, and it was then he felt inspired to write the 13-part pamphlet, The Crisis. He wrote The Crisis to rally the public to support the war. After the war he waned to unify the nation while writing in the Providence Gazette. However, after his revolutionary writing, his career and reputation went downhill. He moved to France and wrote against the execution of King Louis XVI and was imprisoned. He wrote a work about his disbelief in God and an angry letter to George Washington, which ruined his popularity all together. Paine died on June 8, 1809 and was buried on his farm. Today he is most commonly remembered for his ability to rally Americans and courage to stand up to tyranny.