Thomas Paine: The Founding Father Worth Celebrating
The article argues that Thomas Paine deserves celebration as a Founding Father, highlighting his contributions through "Common Sense" and his advocacy for independence, reason, and human rights, contrasting his legacy with that of other founders who owned slaves or held elitist views.
Background
- Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was an English-born political writer who became one of the most influential figures of the American Revolution. His 1776 pamphlet *Common Sense* made the case for independence from Britain in plain language that ordinary colonists could understand, helping shift public opinion toward revolution.
- He later wrote *The American Crisis* series (opening with "These are the times that try men's souls"), which George Washington ordered read to his troops.
- Paine was a radical thinker who also championed the French Revolution and wrote *The Rights of Man* (a defense of popular sovereignty) and *The Age of Reason* (a critique of organized religion that made him deeply unpopular in his later years).
- Unlike Washington, Jefferson, or Franklin, Paine held no elected office, commanded no army, and died in obscurity and poverty — which is why this essay argues he is "worth celebrating" precisely because he represents a citizen-activist rather than a statesman.
- The essay appears in *Reason* magazine, a libertarian publication that admires Paine's skepticism of government power, his belief in individual rights, and his working-class, anti-establishment background.