Thomas Paine
(1737–1809)

Thomas Paine

Anecdote...

Benjamin Franklin said to Paine, "Where liberty is, there is my country." Paine answered, "Where liberty is not, there is mine."

Quotes...

"These are the times that try men's souls."

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."


Biographical Note...

Paine was a British political theorist and writer. His pamphlet Common Sense (1776) was instrumental in justifying the American Revolution. Often tactless, Paine provoked considerable controversy. When his Rights of Man (1791–92) appeared in support of the French Revolution, he was charged with treason by the British government and fled to France. In August 1792, Paine was made a French citizen and was elected to the French Convention. He was later imprisoned by Robespierre and escaped the guillotine only by chance. Believing that the Americans had deserted him when he was in danger in France, Paine wrote a bitter attack on General Washington. He finally emigrated to the United States (1802), where he eventually found himself unpopular and ostracized. He died in New York.


More Information...

Read the complete works of Thomas Paine online. Or read a brief biography of Paine here.