https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w Made with a bold sensibility en-us 2020-09-08 19:03:47 UTC 2023-04-29 16:23:41 UTC hello@padlet.com foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/728882456 On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England. His father, a corseter, had grand visions for his son, but by the age of 12, Thomas had failed out of school. The young Paine began apprenticing for his father, but again, he failed. So, now age 19, Paine went to sea. This adventure didn't last too long, and by 1768 he found himself as an excise (tax) officer in England. Thomas didn't exactly excel at the role, getting discharged from his post twice in four years, but as an inkling of what was to come, he published The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), arguing for a pay raise for officers. In 1774, by happenstance, he met Benjamin Franklin in London, who helped him emigrate to Philadelphia.]]> 2020-09-08 19:12:44 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/728882456 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736614693 His career turned to journalism while in Philadelphia, and suddenly, Thomas Paine became very important. In 1776, he published Common Sense, a strong defense of American Independence from England. He traveled with the Continental Army and wasn't a success as a soldier, but he produced The American Crisis (1776-83), which helped inspire the Army. This pamphlet was so popular that as a percentage of the population, it was read by or read to more people than today watch the Super Bowl.]]> 2020-09-10 18:54:51 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736614693 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736639359 instead of continuing to help the Revolutionary cause, he returned to Europe and pursued other ventures, including working on a smokeless candle and an iron bridge. In 1791-92, he wrote The Rights of Man in response to criticism of the French Revolution. This work caused Paine to be labeled an outlaw in England for his anti-monarchist views. He would have been arrested, but he fled for France to join the National Convention. By 1793, he was imprisoned in France.]]> 2020-09-10 19:00:33 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736639359 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736664493 By 1793, he was imprisoned in France for not endorsing the execution of Louis XVI. During his imprisonment, he wrote and distributed the first part of what was to become his most famous work at the time, the anti-church text, The Age of Reason (1794-96). He was freed in 1794 (narrowly escaping execution) thanks to the efforts of James Monroe, then U.S. Minister to France. Paine remained in France until 1802 when he returned to America on an invitation from Thomas Jefferson. Paine discovered that his contributions to the American Revolution had been all but eradicated due to his religious views. Derided by the public and abandoned by his friends, he died on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City.]]> 2020-09-10 19:06:44 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736664493 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736673655 https://www.ushistory.org/Paine/#:~:text=On%20January%2029%2C%201737%2C%20Thomas,was%20born%20in%20Thetford%2C%20England.&text=In%201776%2C%20he%20published%20Common,which%20helped%20inspire%20the%20Army. https://www.biography.com/scholar/thomas-paine]]> 2020-09-10 19:09:07 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736673655 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736690709 2020-09-10 19:13:40 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736690709 foxcm1 https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736716474 Paine returned to the United States in 1802 or 1803, only to find that his revolutionary work, influence and reputation had mostly been forgotten, leaving only his status as a world-class rabble-rouser intact. It would take a century later before Paine's reputation would be reinstated as a vital figure to the American Revolution. Paine died alone on June 8, 1809. Only six mourners were present at his funeral — half of them former slaves. To drive home the point of his tarnished image as a mere political rabble-rouser, the New York Citizen printed the following line in Paine's obituary: "He had lived long, did some good and much harm." For more than a century following his death, this was the historical verdict handed down upon the legacy of Paine. Finally, in January 1937, the Times of London turned the tide, referring to him as the "English Voltaire" — a view that has prevailed ever since, with Paine now regarded as a seminal figure of the American Revolution.]]> 2020-09-10 19:20:10 UTC https://padlet.com/foxcm1/ym7hey4r44jcnn3w/wish/736716474