Guide Note

British writer, revolutionary and intellectual Thomas Paine moved to the United States in 1774, just in time to take part in the American Revolution. He is the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet advocating the independence of the American colonies from England.

He is also the author of Rights of Man, a 1792 guide to Enlightenment ideals and response to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.

Fast Facts

1. Born: January 29, 1737 in Thetford, England
2. Occupations: Writer, inventor, corset maker, merchant, seaman
3. First person to propose the name The United States of America
4. Early supporter of the abolition of slavery
5. Self-described Deist
6. Died: June 8, 1809

• January 29, 1737: Born in England
• June 4, 1774: Introduced to Benjamin Franklin
• November 30, 1774: Emigrates to America
• January 10, 1776: Common Sense published
• 1791: The Rights of Man published
• 1794-1807: The Age of Reason published in three parts
• June 8, 1809: Dies in New York City

While Paine did not speak French, he was elected to France's National Assembly in 1792. Having fallen out of favor with Maximilien Robespierre, Paine was arrested in Paris in 1793. He was imprisoned, but was released in 1794. During this time he wrote The Age of Reason, a controversial book which took issue with Christian doctrine. Paine stayed in France through the Napoleonic era, but returned to the United States in 1802 at the invitation of President Thomas Jefferson.