This volume, "Life and Writings," offers a comprehensive look at the life and works of Thomas Paine, a pivotal figure in the American Revolution and an influential advocate for liberty and reason. Edited and annotated by Daniel Edwin Wheeler, this edition includes a detailed biography by Thomas Clio Rickman, providing insights into Paine's formative years, his involvement in revolutionary movements, and his complex personality.
The volume also features critical appreciations by prominent thinkers such as Leslie Stephen, Lord Erskine, Paul Desjardins, Robert G. Ingersoll, Elbert Hubbard, and Marilla M. Ricker, offering diverse perspectives on Paine's enduring legacy. Explore Paine's significant contributions to political thought and his impact on the course of history. This collection is essential for anyone interested in the history of the American Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the ongoing struggle for human rights. Discover the man behind the words and the enduring relevance of his ideas.
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English-born Thomas Paine left behind hearth and home for adventures on the high seas at nineteen. Upon returning to shore, he became a tax officer, and it was this job that inspired him to write The Case of the Officers of Excise in 1772. Paine then immigrated to Philadelphia, and in 1776 he published Common Sense, a defense of American independence from England. After returning to Europe, Paine wrote his famous Rights of Man as a response to criticism of the French Revolution. He was subsequently labeled as an outlaw, leading him to flee to France where he joined the National Convention. However, in 1793 Paine was imprisoned, and during this time he wrote the first part of The Age of Reason, an anti-church text which would go on to be his most famous work. After his release, Paine returned to America where he passed away in 1809.
