Thomas Paine, or Tom Paine was born in 1737 in Britain and dies in 1809 in New York City – in a very different world to that he had been born in. Here, Douglas Reid tells us about Paine’s life, including his roles in the American and French revolutions, as well as his extremely important book – Common Sense.
A late 18th century painting of Thomas Paine. By Matthew Pratt.
John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson wrote: “Paine is the most extraordinary man, this age, or this world, ever produced.” But elsewhere Adams also said: “He was the greatest mischief-maker of the age. “ He made his presence felt as a citizen of three countries and two revolutions. His earthly debut came in 1737 in Thetford, England as the older son of Quaker parents.
Thetford is a mid-sized market town 35 miles north of London. Home for the Paine family was typical for working class folk of the time – a modest thatched cottage on the edge of the village. Young Tom, from his bedroom casement, looked out on a low, windswept landscape that led 200 yards to “Hangman’s Hill”, the scene of many ghastly executions - a harbinger of the time that would come when Tom participated in the French Revolution.
Boys of Tom’s class would typically receive a basic education to 12 years of age. But young Tom was something of a natural scholar. He became self-taught, and he especially liked the works of Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. He was soon expected to work seven years at a trade, and gradually to be formally recognized as a journeyman. Young Tom Paine proved to be a flop at any trade he tried. At last, he was apprenticed as a corset maker under his own family. Tommy Paine – corset maker? No, that could never be. By age 17 young Paine decided he could hear ‘the call of the sirens’ and he left home and headed to sea.
Although young when he began to haunt various shipping berths along the Thames, Tom was not in quest of the thrills of adventure on the high seas. His motivation was financial, plain and simple. He felt his working class education had been inadequate and he was very much a knowledge seeker. While most of his shipmates received their share of a ship’s profits in the morning, only to be in debt by the same afternoon, Tom was paying modest fees to listen to the several lecturers in town. Most of these talks were political in nature and the young man listened carefully.
Political beginnings
Paine developed his political creed through his twenties working as a schoolteacher, a corset maker, and (especially) as an excise taxman. It was during this time that he met Ben Franklin who convinced him that the American Colonies were on the road to separation from King and country. Franklin also advised him that a young man of his sort belonged there and Franklin suggested that Philadelphia should be his destination. Indeed, near the midpoint of 1774 that is where Tom Paine landed.
It was in transit from England to America that Paine completed his extended essay “Pure Reason” which remained the working title until shortly after meeting Doctor Benjamin Rush. Dr. Rush was generally considered the most accomplished medical man in 18th century America. Rush suggested Paine’s essay should be entitled, “Common Sense”. And possibly the world’s best-known essay was born.
The first of two Continental Congresses met in the Pennsylvania State House during the summer of 1774. They sought mainly to patch up differences with the mother country over excise taxes. The basic views of the delegates at this conference broke down as follows: Approximately one-third were in favour of holding on to Mother England regardless of tax squabbles, one-third sat on the fence, one-third were restless and eager to separate. “Common Sense” was published and the world would never be the same.
Common Sense
Common Sense burst from the printing press like a bolt of lightning. It ran to seven editions in just a few hours. A copy of the mercurial missive reached George Washington two days after its debut on the streets of Philadelphia. His take: “I find Common Sense is working a powerful change there in the eyes of many men.” The world has not seen, before or since, a document that mesmerized a people like this brainchild of Tom Paine. But nothing man-made lasts forever.
Common Sense did not alter the result but it certainly sped things up. After the initial sensation of the tract Paine contributed many speeches to the cause of the Revolution. And it needs to be said that Paine could not hold others in thrall in person the way he could by his written word. His physical appearance alone put many off.
Tom Paine was of average size but he had a face with rosy cheeks. Throughout his life he had a face that burned with a steady, bright red colour. And his eyes released an incandescent black emanation that startled any interlocutor with menace. He was difficult to converse with but he was a genius with the written language. George Washington, for example, got Paine a job as a war correspondent. At the close of a day when negativity reigned following a loss in the field, Paine wrote on a drumhead by the light of a campfire: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” And now France beckoned.
French Revolution
The firebrand orator soon made his voice known in a new arena – at the famed Tennis Court Oath of 1790. Later still he was to almost lose his head during the Reign of Terror. He had made the mistake of dressing like a Gironde. Lafayette was there to rescue him. Soon after this close shave, Paine fled across the channel to his country of birth but England was not large enough for Paine and George both. And soon he was back stateside, all the while crafting his burning prose. One more thing - and this time it is of a personal nature.
During his French sojourn the omnipresent and stylish Lafayette presented the Brit turned American with a key - and not just any key. This long black key had been in long-time use at the centre gate of the Bastille. Subsequently Tom gave the key to George Washington. Shortly after the death of the president, the key to the Bastille became a steady draw for visitors to Mount Vernon.
And I, lingering after hours was allowed to hold the key and feel the weight of it myself!
What do you think of Tom Paine’s importance in the American Revolution? Let us know below.
