Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine


     In September of 1776, on the outskirts of Newark, among the tired,

discouraged, soldiers, as they paused from their daily retreat, sat Thomas Paine.

He wrote many papers that would have a major effect on the outcome of the quest

for independence. Born the son of a  Quaker Laymaker on January 29th, 1737 at

Thetford, Norfolk England. He received a basic elementary education, and started

to work for his father as an apprentice, and later as an excise officer. He was

not a huge success at either, and was in fact fired twice from the job as an

excise officer. When he arrived in Philadelphia on November 30th 1774,

he was sick and feverish, and had to be carried on a stretcher. With a letter of

recommendation from Ben Franklin, he was accepted into a hospital and given

special care, until he recovered. With that same letter from Ben Franklin, he

found many doors opened for him, including jobs tutoring many of the sons of the

wealthiest men in Philadelphia.

     Paine started over again, by publishing African Slavery In America, in

the spring of 1775, in which he criticized slavery in America as being unjust

and inhumane. At about this same time, he became the co-editor for the

Pennsylvania Magazine. When he arrived in Philadelphia, Paine noticed the

tension, and the rebellious attitude, that was continually getting larger, after

the Boston Tea Party.

     In Paine's opinion, the Colonies had all the right to revolt against a

government that imposed taxes on them, and which did not give them the right of

representation in the Parliament at Westminster. Then he went one massive step

further, he decided there was no reason for the Colonies to stay dependent on

England. He published his opinions in the American independence pamphlet Common

Sense.

     In Common Sense Paine states that sooner or later Independence from

England must come, because America had lost touch with the mother country. He

felt that the function of government in society was to only be a regulator, and

thus pretty simple. His strong beliefs made him a major influence on the

Declaration Of Independence.

       He joined General Washington in his battle against General Howe in the

War of Independence. Where he motivated many downhearted soldiers who needed

reassurance. The retreating of General Washington's army was a slow, daily

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