Abstract
This paper offers a personal opinion on the importance of Thomas Paine's revolutionary document in American history. The author discusses the main ideals and themes in Paine's work, "Common Sense". The paper compares the "Declaration of Independence" and "Common Sense" and states reasons why it is Thomas Paine's work that Americans should idealize and remember.

From the Paper
"Thomas shed new light to the matter and made it a point to emphasize that America can and will survive on it own without any British intervention. He simply made a point that America does not need Great Britain and went on to say that "America would have flourished as much, probably much more, had no European Power had anything to do with her" (Thomas Paine). In "Common Sense", Thomas Paine portrays the British to be greedy for power and control and he clarifies that Britain's intervention is not for the benefit of the American people but rather because she wants control and would've done the same to Turkey for the same motive "viz., the sake of trade and dominion" (Thomas Paine)."

Tags:America, Declaration, Independence, Thomas, Jefferson, history

Abstract
This paper attempts to educate the reader on the importance of Thomas Paine's writings and his passion for independence. It discuses Paine's influence on the common man and also his influence, if any, on men known to be "great men" in history such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. In addition, the paper discusses whether Thomas Paine was the first to advocate the emancipation of the Negro in America, support women's rights or was the first to propose a constitutional government in the United States.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Thomas Paine Background Information
Was Thomas Paine a Patriot?
The Passion Present in his Writings
Paine's Influence on Historic Figures
Thomas Paine- Influence on Common People
Thomas Paine--the Emancipation of Slaves and Women's Rights
Conclusion

From the Paper
"As it pertains to the other aims of the research, it is evident from the passages provided, that Thomas Paine had passionate feelings about America. He wrote many essays on various topics throughout his life. In some instances he wrote essays on the same topic over a number of years or months. He understood what the forefathers were trying to accomplish in the new world and he supported their endeavors. It is evident that Thomas Paine played a significant role in formulating the ideas and philosophies associated with the declaration of independence. Without the document and without the spirit behind that document America would not be the country that it is today. It still isn't a perfect union but it does have a pretty solid political structure in place."

Tags:forefathers, emancipation, passion

Abstract
This paper details the life and times of political philosopher and writer, Thomas Paine. It examines how, born poor in England, he arrived in America just before the Revolution and devoted his life to three great causes: the American Revolution, religious reform, and the natural rights of man. It looks at how his powerful writings played a significant part in the process of Independence and how some of them also provoked great controversies. It considers whether Paine was a revolutionary pamphleteer and focuses on his very particular pamphlet, "Common Sense" and on the influence he had on the American Revolution.

Outline:
His Main Works and their Context
A Focus on "Common Sense": Paine's Influence on American Independence

From the Paper
"After the United States' victory over England, Paine didn't take part in the establishment of the new republic. He returned to Europe instead and soon played a part in the political debate over the French Revolution and wrote The Rights of Man (1791, 1792) that supported the revolution. In this work, Paine defended the natural equality of all men in the sight of God and their political rights, denounced hereditary monarchy and called for republican principles. Moreover Paine also analysed the basic reasons for great discontentment in Europe and tried to find a solution to poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and war. He proposed the levying of a progressive income tax to finance a social plan to educate the population, to help the poor, to financially support aged people and to create public works for unemployed people."

Tags:american, revolutionary, war, common, sense, rights, of, man

Abstract
This paper discusses the literary techniques, and the function of the techniques Thomas Paine uses in his essay, "Common Sense". The author analyzes the way Paine engages his readers and uses the contrast to illustrate the varying views of a wide variety of individuals. The paper also discusses how Paine uses the essay as an opportunity to open the readers' eyes to the similarities in man regardless of his location or circumstances.

From the Paper
"Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" appears in conjunction with other works of literature that came out in the 2002 'Heath Anthology of American Literature'. In the writing, Paine reports that he in no ways wants to sway the opinions of the reader, yet he hopes to inform them and help bring clarity and understanding to the occurrences discussed in his writing. "I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense." This intro leads into a rather convincing essay."

Tags:politics, England, literature

Abstract
This paper explains that Thomas Paine dedicated his life to three great causes: the American Revolution, the rights of man and the reform of religion. The author points out that Paine's writings "Common Sense" and "The American Crisis" made him a hero of the American Revolution; however, his attack on the religion of his day in "The Age of Reason" caused him to be ostracized. The paper relates that, as one of the America Revolution's chief pamphleteers, Paine's "plain" style of language helped him explain to the masses his passionate demands for political reform based on his republican views.

From the Paper
"Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737 in Thetford, England. His father, Joseph Paine, was a maker of ladies corsets. His mother was Frances Cocke. He was a well-educated child, and stayed in school until the age of thirteen. His parents, both being Quakers were not supporters of poetry, but along with Paine were very enthusiastic about his talent. After leaving school, Paine worked at his father's trade until age eighteen. In 1757, he left for London where he found a job as a corset maker to pay for his studies. There he bought a pair of globes to study astronomy and physics."

Tags:pamphleteer, deist, writing, republican, revolution

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that the eighteenth century brought a period of popular manifestation of dissatisfaction with the social order imposed by governments. The writer points out that Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Thomas Paine were philosophers that questioned the authority of the state and wrote unilaterally from the point of view of a human being that was beginning to feel and act like being as important a part of society as any other human being. The writer concentrates on Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense' that is both a manifest against the oppression of monarchy upon the colonies and an appeal to declare their independence. The writer concludes that the fact that its author spoke the language of the masses and knew their spirit as he knew himself, accompanied by his intelligence and keen sense of observation, gave him the opportunity to write a work that gave the final push to those who were still in doubt about starting a revolution that seemed partly a civil war.

From the Paper
"Paine's Common Sense is both a manifest against the oppression of monarchy upon the colonies and an appeal to declare their independence. The economic factors were of primary importance and plaid the major role in the outbreak of the American Revolution, but the ideas and the visions of people like Paine gave the supporters of the Independence War and the common people the incentive and the spiritual basis at the same time. Paine's pamphlet is considered by some to be the most important material that gave a moral support to those who doubted the legitimacy of their acts pro liberation from the British crown."

Tags:civil, war, revolution, rights, economics

Abstract
This paper takes a look at 'Common Sense', a document by Thomas Paine and compares it to the thinking and action of George Washington.
The paper argues that Paine's 'Common Sense' was not practical, whereas Washington's view of government was necessary to create a united nation that could do business with the world, and also keep popular forces under enough control so that true freedom of speech could be enjoyed by all, not simply the democratic majority.

From the Paper
"Paine wrote his document in 1776, during the first flush of American enthusiasm over war against England, and during one of the most sustained periods of rage against the increasingly prohibitive British system of taxation upon the colonies. Washington, however, saw the American colonialists as potentially overmatched, especially as the war drew on in the years afterwards. Of his minutemen, in comparison to the more systematically trained British soldiers, Washington wrote: "Place them behind a parapet, a breastwork, stone wall, or anything that will afford them shelter, and, from their knowledge of a firelock, they will give a good account of the enemy, but I am as well convinced...they will not stand up at a plain." (Morgan, 1982, p.42) This is why Washington deployed guerrilla tactics when fighting the better-trained English army, who also outnumbered the colonists."

Tags:patriot, American, war, independant, Britain, France

Abstract
An essay which compares the political philosophy of Edmund Burke with that of his leading critic, Thomas Paine. It argues that Burke's philosophy was less a reaction to the French Revolution than an idealization of the English constitution which was created for the purpose of disarming those in England who might have drawn upon revolutionary principles to foster change at home. Paine's philosophy is distinguished from Burke's chiefly by the fact that it takes a much more critical attitude to the past.

From the Paper
"Yet as praise for Burke's philosophy seems detached from any particular enthusiasm for the late 18th-century English state, it seems that Burke's political philosophy is routinely analyzed in a way that completely abstracts it from the political order it was intended to eulogize and exempt from further change. The problem with this abstract approach is that it bestows upon Burke's philosophy the power to legitimize any political order simply because it has subsisted into a venerable old age. In other words, if the Third Reich had lasted a thousand years, it would also be entitled to similar esteem as the fruit of generations of human wisdom. It is hard, however, to see the genuine wisdom in a philosophy which blithely ratifies the past, without developing clear criteria to distinguish between the parts which might be allowed to continue to subsist without harm, and those which will only yield harm if left uncorrected."

Tags:Reflections, Revolution, France, Whig, 18th-century, Common, Sense

Abstract
This paper analyzes and examines Thomas Paine's call for revolution in his treatise, "Common Sense". The author discusses Paine's philosophy regarding the origin and design of government in general; monarchy and hereditary succession; as well as the present state of American politics.

From the Paper
"The commitment to liberty that dominated America's key revolutionary thinkers like Thomas Paine was extended and re-affirmed by the writers of the Jacksonian era. Whereas America's key revolutionary thinkers defined liberty in terms of individual freedom, the writers of the Jacksonian era extended this definition of liberty to include economic equality and equal protection under the laws. A belief in individual freedom and limited government link the revolutionary thinkers with the writers of the Jacksonian era, i.e., these individuals argued that government should derive its power from the consent of the people and that government should be protecting individuals from harm. While it may not be possible to completely eliminate the threats to liberty from government and the nature of individuals, history has proven that a strong commitment to liberty by the people and the wise institutional design of government may facilitate the development and protection of liberty."

Tags:government, American, Revolution, Common, Sense, monarchy, jackson, philosophy

Abstract
This paper gives a personal view of Thomas Paine, the man. It continues to discuss his political views on representational democracy. It also offers a critique on literature by Paine, focusing on his book "Common Sense".

From the Paper
"Thomas Paine is a kind of forgotten Founding Father of the American nation. He was one of the most radical voices advocating separation from England during the pre-Revolutionary War era. However, because his views were so radically democratic, even anarchic in some ways, Paine as a figure was later shunned by more moderate Americans such as Madison and Jefferson after the war for America's independence had been won. Still, it is important to remember the views of Thomas Paine, as expressed in his seminal tract Common Sense, and some of his most famous later tracts such as "From the Age of Reason," when considering the issues of representational democracy that are still debated in the public discourse of today's United States. Unlike some of the better-known patriot voices, Paine attempted to uses "plain" language to persuade his audience to adopt the cause of American independence."

Tags:democracy, society, literature, America