Selected Writings of Thomas Paine


Book Description

A central figure in Western history and American political thought, Thomas Paine continues to provoke debate among politicians, activists, and scholars. People of all ideological stripes are inspired by his trenchant defense of the rights and good sense of ordinary individuals, and his penetrating critiques of arbitrary power. This volume contains Paine’s explosive Common Sense in its entirety, including the oft-ignored Appendix, as well as selections from his other major writings: The American Crisis, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason. It also contains several of Paine’s shorter essays. All the documents have been transcribed directly from the originals, making this edition the most reliable one available. Essays by Ian Shapiro, Jonathan Clark, Jane Calvert, and Eileen Hunt Botting bring Paine into sharp focus, illuminating his place in the tumultuous decades surrounding the American and French Revolutions and his larger historical legacy.




Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of ThomasPaine


Book Description

A volume of Thomas Paine's most essential works, showcasing one of American history's most eloquent proponents of democracy. Upon publication, Thomas Paine’s modest pamphlet Common Sense shocked and spurred the foundling American colonies of 1776 to action. It demanded freedom from Britain—when even the most fervent patriots were only advocating tax reform. Paine’s daring prose paved the way for the Declaration of Independence and, consequently, the Revolutionary War. For “without the pen of Paine,” as John Adams said, “the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain.” Later, his impassioned defense of the French Revolution, Rights of Man, caused a worldwide sensation. Napoleon, for one, claimed to have slept with a copy under his pillow, recommending that “a statue of gold should be erected to [Paine] in every city in the universe.” Here in one volume, these two complete works are joined with selections from Pain's other major essays, “The Crisis,” “The Age of Reason,” and “Agrarian Justice.” Includes a Foreword by Jack Fruchtman Jr. and an Introduction by Sidney Hook










Common Sense


Book Description




Thomas Paine's Rights of Man


Book Description

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. In this book, he demonstrates how Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the U.S.




Common Sense


Book Description

Includes the complete texts of Common Sense; Rights of Man, Part the Second; The Age of Reason (part one); Four Letters on Interesting Subjects, published anonymously and just discovered to be Paine’s work; and Letter to the Abbé Raynal, Paine’s first examination of world events; as well as selections from The American Crises In 1776, America was a hotbed of enlightenment and revolution. Thomas Paine not only spurred his fellow Americans to action but soon came to symbolize the spirit of the Revolution. His elegantly persuasive pieces spoke to the hearts and minds of those fighting for freedom. He was later outlawed in Britain, jailed in France, and finally labeled an atheist upon his return to America.




Thomas Paine. Major Works: Common Sense / The American Crisis / The Rights Of Man / The Age Of Reason / Agrarian Justice


Book Description

Thomas Paine (or Pain; February 9, 1737 [O.S. January 29, 1736] - June 8, 1809) was an English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, he authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he inspired the rebels in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era rhetoric of transnational human rights. He has been called "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination."




The Writings Of Thomas Paine Common Sense


Book Description

The decent people of our country are gravely oppressed by the combination, and as the King of England, in his own Right, supports the Parliament in what he calls Theirs, they have an undeniable right to enquire into both parties' claims and to reject either one's usurpation. Some authors have blurred the lines between society and government, making it difficult to tell the two apart. Government is created by our wickedness, whereas society is created by our desires. The former positively promotes happiness by combining our emotions, while the latter adversely restricts our vices. The first one was a patron, the latter one a judge. Our strength comes from our unity, not from our size, yet even so, the might of the entire planet may be repelled by our current numbers. It is interesting to consider how a race of men became so elevated above all others and distinct like a brand-new species. Our land force is already adequate, and we can't pretend to be oblivious to the fact that Britain would never let the construction of an American man of war as long as the continent was under her control in terms of naval affairs. Denial of the British parliament's authority "to bind the colonies in all instances whatsoever" was one of the finest expressions of romantic unity that America has ever known.




The Life and Writings of Thomas Paine


Book Description

"Of this special de luxe Independence edition of the centenary issue of the writings of Thomas Paine there have been printed five hundred numbered copies." This set not numbered. v. 1. Life and appreciations.--v. 2. Common sense; Miscellany.--v. 3. The crisis.--v. 4. The rights of man. v. 1-v. 5. The rights of man. v. 2; Miscellany.--v. 6 the age of reason. v. 1.--v. 7. The age of reason. v. 2; Miscellany.--v. 8-9. Essays, letters, addresses.--v. 10. Essays, letters, poems.