thomas paine: architect of cooperative individualism
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Thomas Paine: Architect of Cooperative Individualism. A Presentation on the Life and Legacy of the 18 th Century’s Most Remarkable Champion of Liberty. Edward J. Dodson, M.L.A. Director, School of Cooperative Individualism www.cooperativeindividualism.org. Who was Thomas Paine?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Thomas Paine: Architect of Cooperative Individualism
A Presentation on the Life and Legacy of the 18th
Century’s Most Remarkable
Champion of Liberty
Edward J. Dodson, M.L.A.Director, School of Cooperative Individualism
www.cooperativeindividualism.org
Who was Thomas Paine?
• Born, “Thomas Pain” in Thetford, England, in 1737
• Father was a member of the Society of Friends and a staymaker by profession
• Mother was a member of the Church of England
Arrival in North America
• 1774 -- Leaves England, arriving in New York, then to Philadelphia in the fall
• 1774 – Calls on Richard Bache, Ben Franklin’s son-in-law
• 1775 – Obtains position as editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine
Paine Takes Sides
• 1775 – In conflict with his publisher, Paine leaves the Pennsylvania Magazine
• 1775 – He concludes the Colonials must separate from the British empire. In October, at the suggestion of Benjamin Rush, he begins to write a pamphlet in defense of the break with BritainBenjamin Rush
Common Sense
• Published in 1776
• 47 page pamphlet that denounced King George II as a royal brute
• Sold a half-million copies
Common Sense
• English radicals make sure their countrymen get to read Paine’s courageous pamphlet
Independence Declared, but Not Secured
• 1776 – Paine joins General Nathanael Greene as his aide-de-camp. He takes on the role of war correspondent
1776 – December – The first “crisis” paper is written and spread thru the colonies
Diplomacy
• 1781 – Paine accompanies John Laurens to France in an effort to secure French naval support and additional financial assistance
John Laurens
The Rights of Man
• 1791 – Paine’s response to Burke is completed in February and a few hundred copies are printed and sold. British authorities threaten the publisher, and all unsold copies are recalled.
More Rights of Man
• Paine asks why people form societies, then answers the question himself
… and, some believe, God
• Paine’s final years are taken over in the defense of his “deist” spiritual beliefs
• 1804 – Writes an essay critical of missionaries who used the Bible to proselytize among the indigenous peoples of North America
• 1804 on – Writes many letters and essays published in deist journals