Paine arrived in America from England in 1774. A friend of Benjamin Franklin, he was a writer of poetry and tracts condemning the slave trade. In 1775, as hostilities between Britain and the colonies intensified, Paine wrote Common Sense to encourage the colonies to break the British exploitative hold and fight for independence. The little booklet of 50 pages was published January 10, 1776 and sold a half-million copies, approximately equal to 75 million copies today.

Offering more detailed explanatory notes than earlier versions, this edition reprints together for the first time all of Paine's introductions to the versions published in his lifetime. In his own richly informed Introduction, Claeys elucidates the historical context and the subsequent influence of Paine's text, as well as the major problems in interpreting Paine's theory. Instructors will find this new edition a worthy counterpoint to the Hackett edition of Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, edited by J. G. A. Pocock.

An Unabridged Edition (Parts I and II) From 'The Writings Of Thomas Paine,' Edited By Moncure Conway With All Charts and Tables, Notes and Footnotes, To Include A Chronology Of Paine's Life

Thomas Paine's loyalties were with universal and self-evident principles rather than with a particular group or nation, and it is this dimension that informed his most important works. This Norton Critical Edition shows how Paine's fury at the British Empire, including its injustices to South Asians and Africans, shaped his first best seller, Common Sense, and how his direct involvement with the French Revolution pushed his ideas toward a unique form of democratic radicalism. Together with his rejection of organized religion, Paine's radicalism resulted in his being one of the most hated men in both monarchial Britain and republican America. This volume includes J. M. Opal's introduction, "Thomas Paine and the Revolutionary Enlightenment, 1770s-90s," which provides essential biographical and historical details across three tumultuous decades. Paine's most important works-from Common Sense (1776) through Agrarian Justice (1796)-are reprinted and are accompanied by explanatory annotations. Supporting materials include a wide range of documents from the turbulent years following the publication of both Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence. These include Pennsylvania's gradual emancipation statute of the 1780s, an ex-slave's impassioned call for revolutionary violence against European imperialists and masters, and a British conservative's witty rejoinder to Paine's vision of a brave new world. Four major interpretations of Paine's work are provided by Nathan R. Perl-Rosenthal, Robert A. Ferguson, Gary Kates, and Gregory Claeys. A Selected Bibliography is also included.

Written in the years from 1792 to 1795 while Thomas Paine was in prison, "The Age of Reason" shocked 18th-century readers with its attack on the conventions of Christianity. Based on years of study and reflection by the author, the work is written from the deist point of view and questions Christian beliefs and the role of religion in society. Its resonance remains undiminished after two centuries, and it continues to influence thinkers around the world

Thomas Paine was the spark that ignited the American Revolution. More than just a Founding Father, he was a verbal bomb-thrower, a rationalist, and a rebel. In his influential pamphlets Common Sense and The American Crisis, Paine codified both colonial outrage and the intellectual justification for independence, arguing consistently and convincingly for Enlightenment values and the power of the people. Today, we are living in times that, as Paine famously said, "try men's souls." Whatever your politics, if you're seeking to understand the political world we live in, where better to look than Paine? The Daily Thomas Paine offers a year's worth of pithy and provocative quotes from this quintessentially American figure. Editor Edward G. Gray argues that we are living in a moment that Thomas Paine might recognize--or perhaps more precisely, a moment desperate for someone whose rhetoric can ignite a large-scale social and political transformation. Paine was a master of political rhetoric, from the sarcastic insult to the diplomatic apercu, and this book offers a sleek and approachable sampler of some of the sharpest bits from his oeuvre. As Paine himself says in the entry for January 20: "The present state of America is truly alarming to every man who is capable of reflexion." The Daily Thomas Paine--the newest addition to the University of Chicago Press's ongoing series of collected wisdom from notable writers--should prove equally incendiary and inspirational for contemporary readers with an eye for politics, even those who prefer the tweet to the pamphlet.

"In "Common Sense" a writer found his moment to change the world," Alan Taylor writes in his introduction. When Paine's attack on the British mixed constitution of kings, lords, and commons was published in January 1776, fighting had already erupted between British troops and American Patriots, but many Patriots still balked at seeking independence. "By discrediting the sovereign king," Taylor argues, "Paine made independence thinkable--as he relocated sovereignty from a royal family to the collective people of a republic." Paine's American readers could conclude that they stood at "the center of a new and coming world of utopian potential." The John Harvard Library edition follows the text of the expanded edition printed by the shop of Benjamin Towne for W. and T. Bradford of Philadelphia.

Advocating equality, meritocracy, and social responsibility in plain language, Paine galvanized tens of thousands of readers and changed the framework of political discourse. He was tried and convicted for sedition by the British government for publishing the pamphlet, but his direct style and provocative ideas were hugely influential and continue to speak to modern readers. This edition situates Rights of Man within the discussion of the French Revolution in Britain and enables readers to understand the broader political debates of the 1790s. Appendices include responses to the French Revolution. Paine's response to the Proclamation that declared his writing seditious, contemporary political philosophy by Richard Price and Edmund Burke, and cartoon satirizing Paine.

Three key works by one of the world's most eloquent proponents of democracy.  Essential reading for all who cherish liberty.

Struggling under oppressive laws, high taxes, and the heavy hand of King George the Third's rule, the people living in early America longed for freedoms seemingly out of reach. Talk of rebellion stayed in bars and in the secret of homes, never really given serious consideration until Thomas Paine picked up a pen. Common Sense was the one of the first major cases made public for independence. Written as if it were a sermon, Paine advocates for religious freedom and independence from Great Britain. Common Sense is separated by four sections: "Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, With Concise Remarks on the English Constitution", "Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession," "Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs," and "On the Present Ability of America, With Some Miscellaneous Reflections." Each use concise and persuasive prose to address Paine's main points and arguments for independence, based on the origins of the British government, the current state of America, and the issues of each. With Common Sense Thomas Paine entered a frequently talked about and yearned for solution for the young, struggling nation into public discourse for serious consideration. "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain," John Adams said of Thomas Paine . Common Sense not only helped to inspire the American Revolution, but it also gave the founding fathers direction. Using clear, concise, and persuasive prose, Paine argues for American independence before other public figures of his time had the bravery or eloquence to. The ideologies of Common Sense are still employed in government today, and is a testament to the American spirit. Now with in a modern, easy-to-read font and with a distinct cover design, Common Sense by Thomas Paine embodies the American spirit and ingenuity like never before. It is a must-have for any collection seeking to appreciate American history and the origins of American democracy.

The radical pamphlet that helped incite the American Revolution
Penguin presents a series of six portable, accessible, and--above all--essential reads from American political history, selected by leading scholars. Series editor Richard Beeman, author of "The Penguin Guide to the U.S. Constitution," draws together the great texts of American civic life to create a timely and informative mini-library of perennially vital issues. Whether readers are encountering these classic writings for the first time, or brushing up in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, these slim volumes will serve as a powerful and illuminating resource for scholars, students, and civic-minded citizens.

"Common Sense" is the book that created the modern United States, as Paine's incendiary call for Americans to revolt against British rule converted millions to the cause of independence and set out a vision of a just society. Published anonymously in 1776, six months before the Declaration of Independence, "Common Sense" was a radical and impassioned call for America to free itself and set up an independent republican government. Savagely attacking hereditary kingship and aristocratic institutions, Paine urged a new beginning for his adopted country in which personal freedom and social equality would be upheld and economic and cultural progress encouraged. His pamphlet was the first to speak directly to a mass audience--it went through fifty-six editions within a year of publication--and its assertive and often caustic style embodied the democratic spirit he advocated.

Struggling under oppressive laws, high taxes, and the heavy hand of King George the Third's rule, the people living in early America longed for freedoms seemingly out of reach. Talk of rebellion stayed in bars and in the secret of homes, never really given serious consideration until Thomas Paine picked up a pen. Common Sense was the one of the first major cases made public for independence. Written as if it were a sermon, Paine advocates for religious freedom and independence from Great Britain. Common Sense is separated by four sections: "Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, With Concise Remarks on the English Constitution", "Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession," "Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs," and "On the Present Ability of America, With Some Miscellaneous Reflections." Each use concise and persuasive prose to address Paine's main points and arguments for independence, based on the origins of the British government, the current state of America, and the issues of each. With Common Sense Thomas Paine entered a frequently talked about and yearned for solution for the young, struggling nation into public discourse for serious consideration. "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain," John Adams said of Thomas Paine . Common Sense not only helped to inspire the American Revolution, but it also gave the founding fathers direction. Using clear, concise, and persuasive prose, Paine argues for American independence before other public figures of his time had the bravery or eloquence to. The ideologies of Common Sense are still employed in government today, and is a testament to the American spirit. Now with in a modern, easy-to-read font and with a distinct cover design, Common Sense by Thomas Paine embodies the American spirit and ingenuity like never before. It is a must-have for any collection seeking to appreciate American history and the origins of American democracy.

One of Paine's greatest and most widely read works, considered a classic statement of faith in democracy and egalitarianism, defends the early events of the French Revolution, supports social security for workers, public employment for those in need of work, abolition of laws limiting wages, and other social reforms.

Published to commemorate the bicentennial of Thomas Paine s death, these texts have remained two of the most influential arguments for liberty in political thought. Common Sense is a pamphlet that Paine wrote in support of American independence. Due to its original and simple style it spread like wildfire through the colonies, inspiring the American Revolution. The Rights of Man is Paine s passionate defense of the French Revolution that led to his trial for sedition and libel. The acclaimed historian Peter Linebaugh provides an original examination of Paine s thought and legacy.