Thomas Paine a Founding Father In this essay, I will provide an overview of significant events that facilitated the Declaration

of Independence. In this period English writer Thomas Paine published four books; Common Sense, The Age of Reason, The Crisis, and The Rights of Man. Of these works, Common Sense is the most significant. This work aided Americans from being subjects of a King, to citizens of a separate nation that was ruled by a democratic government. The rich and powerful led an uprising that would turn their privileged society upside-down - nobody new where they were going or how everything would turn out. Thomas Paine provided a paradigm shift to a modern world, a significant turning point. Yet Paine was not recognised as a founding father and died a poor man. I will argue that the American Declaration of Independence was a turning point and Paine provided the inspiration for the framework to be completed. The turning point, in this context, unfolds in a series of events leading from the first Congressional meeting on September 5th, 1774, to the Declaration of Independence, on July 4th, 1776. The American Declaration of Independence was a turning point as it marked an era of successful democratic revolutions charting a new direction in history. At the time Common Sense was published the full program of the revolution had not been divulged. The revolutionary war was under way, and the people were unwittingly fighting for independence. The colonists were weighed down by the repression of past centuries: monarchy, empire, feudal servitude, all the untouchables of bygone days clouded their belief for selfdetermination. (Foner 1976). In 1760s America, the majority of the colonists saw themselves as part of the most powerful empire in the world. The colonists loved their king and admired everything English. Wealthy Virginian plantation owners sent their children to England to be educated. New Yorkers read British books and newspapers; Bostonians drank tea from Wedgewood china. Everything was imported from England. British power lay solidly in the hands of the aristocracy whose positions are inherited, not earned. Britain had just defeated France in a conflict that has spanned the globe. In North America, the French had been driven from Canada and much of the West.

Running the overseas colonies had become very expensive. To raise money, in the spring of 1765, British parliament announced it would introduce a stamp tax, the Stamp Act. The revenue from this tax would not go to the American legislators but directly to England (Nettels 1966). This outraged the colonial elite who ran the local legislation. It confirmed their suspicions that they were not respected in England, providing more fuel for the founding fathers, particularly George Washington, to strive for independence. The Stamp Act is the catalyst for a change of mindset of the colonists. The Stamp Act, after opposition and revolt, is repealed. Loyal colonists consider they have a King that cares about them. The British mindset is different, thinking that the colonists need to be controlled, thus introducing the Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act asserts the absolute right of the British Parliament over the American. A year later the British Parliament introduces a new set of taxes on the colonies in the form of stiff duties on manufactured goods from England, everything from paint to tea. The Declaratory Act struck terror into the colonists as it was the same Act introduced to subjugate the Irish, setting in motion the events that galvanised all thirteen colonies, including boycotting all British goods. This polarisation was further consolidated at the Boston Massacre on March 5 th, 1770, when British soldiers fired upon a crowd who had been intimidating them and somebody in the crowd had yelled out, Open fire. (Langguth 1989, pp.132-138). A major incident that propelled the colonies towards revolution was The Boston Tea Party of December 1773. Surplus tea was sent to Boston via the East India Tea Company. In defiance of the Declaratory Act, and of Governor Hutchinson, 350 crates of tea were emptied into Boston Harbour. This action was not tolerated by Britain who sent ships and additional troops Boston, taking military rule. The British Parliament calls this the Cohesive Acts. The Americans call them the Intolerable Acts. (Nettels 1966). This leads to the first Continental Congress on 5 th of September 1774, where 56 delegates attend. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were the main Patriots, along with Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benjamin Rush, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, who eventually drafted the Declaration of Independence. The patriots all had similar deist views of Paine. Congress debated for two months with three key outcomes that sow the seeds for revolution: 1. Congress to support Massachusetts; 2

2. To arm for self defence; and, 3. To send a letter to the King affirming their loyalty and asking for the end to military rule in Boston. John Adams said of the congress that, 13 different clocks strike as one (Jensen 2004, p.33). King George views the fact that the colonists wish to arm as a sign of betrayal and sends 1,000 troops and three generals to reinforce his contingent. On April 19 th 1775, the militia in Boston hear that the British troops have received intelligence on the location of an arms store at a place near Lexington Green. The militia intercepted the British and stopping them obtaining arms. British fatalities number 269 and the militia are routed, inspiring others to rally to Boston and set up in tents on the fringes. A second congress is held on May 10 th 1775, where Washington was appointed to lead an army. Washington has had previous military experience but has never been in charge. The battle of Bunker Hill on July 5 th, 1775 is significant. The British fought uphill and received heavy casualties yet managed to out-manoeuvre the militia, killing those who are unable to escape. The King received the Olive Tree petition from congress shortly after the Bunker Hill battle. The King is furious with the betrayal of the colonies and prepares for a showdown. (Langguth,1989). The colonists were confused and lacking direction but could not turn back. They were unskilled in warfare, short of arms and supplies. The battles at Lexington and Bunker Hill have damaged them. Nobody knew what to do. On January 10 th, 1776, a fifty-page pamphlet is published that facilitated their perception of where they were and where they needed to be. The pamphlet is called Common Sense and was written by Thomas Paine in simple language, avoiding historical, biblical, and other learned references and illusions common in the literary style of the day. It appealed to every segment of the population, creating a united front to win complete freedom from England. The first clear cut call to the masses to break free from England and monarchy, to give up the patchwork of reform and embark on the revolutionary road to independence. Paine did not sign his name to this pamphlet. With this Paine took his place as the chief propagandist and some historians argue a patriot of the American Revolution. Ironically, it is published as news arrives that King George III has declared the colonies to be in rebellion mean thousands of additional British

troops would come to put down the rebels (Langguth,1989). Before their arrival, congress takes action. On July 4th, 1776, the delegates convene in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence is formally adopted. So who was Paine? Paine was an only child was born in Thetford England, the son of a Quaker staymaker (corset maker) father and a conservative Church of England mother. Paines critical approach to religion began at home. Paine called himself a deist, believing in one god based on natural laws. He left school at the age of13 to work with his father, making corsets, later on supporting himself by working as a tax exiseman and as a teacher. In 1772 he spoke for the exiseman, seeking an increase in pay. Paine had a love of Newtonian science. He was also influenced by philosopher John Locke who was known for his political, liberal, antiauthoritarian views on human rights. Paines worldview was most likely shaped by John Wilkes, an unconventional, perhaps unstable, political figure who attacked the powers of the King and the corruption of English government. His catch cry was, Wilkes and Liberty. Paine attended taverns and debated the issues of The Enlightenment period in Europe. Through his love of science he met Benjamin Franklin, when attending several of his lectures, then decided he would travel to America (Foner 1976). Paine arrived in the most prosperous of the 13 colonies, Philadelphia, on November 30th, 1774, armed with his letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin and a rage against the privileged class, and against the injustice of the British political system (Jensen 1967). He found work as editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine, advocating a separation of the American colonies from England as well as airing his views on slavery, economic and social injustices. His views attracted the attention of Doctor Benjamin Rush, a physician writer (Fruchtman 1994), who held similar views. Rush was impressed with Paine, subsequently introducing him to his banking and financial friends, George Clymer and Robert Morris. His association with the financiers during the Fort Wilson Riot, in 1779, would later ruin his reputation (Foner 1976). In Common Sense, Paine is not only calling for independence, he is proposing a radical new idea that ordinary people can understand and participate in government, and do not need a king. It was that transformation of government that was central to the ground-breaking character of the American Revolution. Paines literary gift sparkled from every page of Common Sense, stirring workers and 4

farmers of colonial times with his blunt comments such as, In England a King hath little more to do than to make war and give away places, meaning, to empoverish the nation (Jensen 1967, p.418). He similarly made a case for completing the revolution by independence stating, Everything that is right or reasonable pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, and its time to part. Then to a new style of government for Paine that would be republican. Wholly owing to the constitution of the people, and not to the constitution of the government (Jensen 1967, pp408-423). This style of writing using clever sound bites sinks deep into the consciousness of the new nation, preparing the way for the Declaration of Independence, which followed six months later. (Jensen 1967, p.418). Indicative of how popular Paines arguments were, Common Sense immediately became a best seller. About 150,000 copies sold within six months of publication. Since there was no copyright law, several pirated editions were also widely sold, so that the total distribution of the pamphlet was estimated at least 300,000. Paine received no royalties and the pamphlet was sold cheaply so the masses could afford to purchase a copy. This was at a time when the population was less than three million. The pamphlet made its way to Europe and was reprinted in England, Scotland, Holland, Germany and France (Jensen 1967). The argument is that the language used in the Declaration of Independence is of the style, and containing the political and philosophical themes, of Common Sense. As such, Paine should have been included as a founding father but was excluded from notoriety. His writing brilliance and worthiness as a founding father was reinforced his when Washington needed a miracle to keep American Independence alive at Trenton, in August 1776. Washington had suffered defeats, retreats and desertions. Paine, accompanying them, gauged the mood and the need accurately when, without false optimism, he wrote these now famous lines from The American Crisis, These are the times that try mens souls... (Kuklick 1997,p. 47). Washington had the pamphlet read aloud to every army detachment. A few nights later the army crossed the icy Delaware, immortalised in painting and story, and won the battle at Trenton that turned the tide in a losing war. The power of Paines pen would have been like giving Washington another 1,000 fresh soldiers, so was the influence of The Crisis (Langguth 1989).

In the declaration themes such as, All men are created equal, the principles of democratic republicanism are identical in both texts (Krensky 2012,pp.75-83). Mankind being originally equal in the order of creation, the equality could not be destroyed by some subsequent circumstance, from Common Sense is one of the revolutionary principles of Paine that seeped into the subconscious of the American people. Uses of words such as common blood, common king and common kindred in the declaration is the clever use of rhetoric and catch-phrases unique to Common Sense. Paine never speaks of a mother country and considers America and Britain as equals. The evidence is overwhelming that Paine significantly contributed to The United States of America and should be recognised as one of the founding fathers. Paine died in New York on June 8, 1809, aged 72 years. He died destitute and alone. Common Sense was the best selling literary work of its time. Its rallying for independence laid the groundwork for the foundations of a living, breathing document for the liberty of a people, and providing a turning point in history for other democracies to follow.

References Countyman, Edward, The American Revolution 1986,pp.59-79 Foner, E. 1976. Thomas Paines Republic: Radical Ideology and Social Change, In A.F. Young (ed.), The American Revolution: Explorations in the History of American Radicalism, pp.187-232. Fruchtman, Jr., J. 1994. Thomas Paine: Apostle of Freedom, pp.59-79.

Herman, G. 2006. Morality and Behaviour in Democratic Athens A Social History . United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, pp.86-88. Jensen, M. 1967. Tracts of The American Revolution. United States of America. The Bobbs-Merrill Company. Jensen, M. 1968. The Founding of a Nation A History of the American Revolution 1763-1776. Oxford University Press, p33. Kuklick, B. 1997. Paine Political Writings in Cambridge Texts in The History of Political Thought. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. Krensky, S. 2012. Documents of democracy: The Declaration of Independence, Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, New York: ISBN 1608706702; pp.75-83 (2012) Langguth, A.J Patriots in Trenton 1776 pp.132-138.pp.230-254.pp.401 - 406 Touchstone Press New York (1989) Neettels, Curtis. P. The Roots of American Civilization, A History of Colonial Life, Appleton Century Crofts Publishing New York (1966) pp.630-635, pp.641-647 Parker, J and Urness, C. The American Revolution: A Heritage of Change, The Associates of The James Ford Bell Library, (1975) pp.107-119