As Oregon celebrates America’s 250th birthday, we reflect upon our famous Founding Fathers and realize that they were more sacrificial and more amazing than we expected. Take for instance, the life of Thomas Paine.
Only six people attended the funeral in June 1809 of Founding Father Thomas Paine, an English-born American statesman known for his words describing the Revolutionary War period as “the times that try men’s souls.” In his popular pamphlet Common Sense, published in January 1776, Paine explained to American colonists in clear, plain writing why Patriots sought independence from British rule. He rallied people to the cause, denounced the monarchy and hereditary rule, wrote of inherent equal rights, and explained how a representative government would work.
Paine donated all proceeds from his pamphlet to the revolutionary cause. When the rebellion looked like it might fail, he wrote essays between 1776 and 1783, published as The American Crisis, to boost morale among soldiers.
In 1791, Paine published The Rights of Man, which championed democracy and defended the French Revolution but prompted England to charge and try him in absentia for seditious libel. He attacked national leaders with his pen, leading to him falling out of favor. Despite his crucial role in inspiring the masses to support the revolution, he died impoverished.
