Thomas Paine

He was born January 29, 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England. Thomas Paine was a Founding Father. He was also one the greatest philosophers of the American War for Independence. We can admit that Thomas Paine was a true revolutionary. Thomas Pine is the author of many essays and pamphlets. He is specially known for writing "Common Sense". This pamphlet was really special because he used a plain language. This kind of language resonated with the common people of America and roused them to begin the movements for independence.

Before publishing "Common Sense", Thomas Paine published other works. He also wrote, "Case of the Officers of Excise". Which is his earliest known prose composition and first important pamphlet, in 1772. After that, he moved to Philadelphia in 1774. In there, he became an important editor of "Pennsylvania Magazine" in 1775. Another really important essay published by Thomas Paine was "African Slavery in America". This was an anti-slavery essay published in 1775.

After he wrote "Common Sense", he enlisted in the Continental Army in 1776. Following the American Revolution, Paine immigrated to Europe where the British government declared him and outlaw for his anti-monarchist views. Thomas Paine was condemned for his radical views and was forced to leave England in 1792. He actively participated in the French Revolution. Helped write the Constitution of the Republic of France in 1792.

Thomas Paine was Imprisoned by Jacobins in 1793, during the Reign of Terror, for his moderate views regarding the treatment of Louis XVI. He was released from eleven-month imprisonment in 1793, with the help of James Monroe, the U.S. Ambassador to France.