what do you think of Thomas Paine and why he was impoprtant to history?

Answer 1

The following is a list of major accomplishments of Thomas Paine taken largely from Life and Writings of Thomas Paine.

1. He was the first to advocate the end of slavery.

2. He was the first to say "the American nation," and "the Free and Independent States of America."

3. He was the first to propose constitutional government for the United States.

4. He was first to form a plan of international arbitration.

5. He was a pioneer in national and international copyright.

6. He was a pioneer in the fight for equal rights for women.

7. Had France heeded him the Reign of Terror never would have happened.

8. He proposed equitable, progressive, and workable land reforms, and industrial and wage systems.

9. He invented the first iron bridge used in Europe.

10. He inferred that the fixed stars were suns, twenty years before Herschel.

11. He correctly surmised the cause of, and thereby pointed to the remedy for yellow fever.

12. He, more than anyone else, presented Deism to all the people, thus breaking the old confines that had previously limited Deism to the few bold intellectuals who were primarily of the financial upper class .

OK so those events are why he is important to American history. But there is also something else that is NOT mentioned in the history books.

Thomas Paine wrote a book called "The Age of Reason" on his view of religion.

Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (1794)

It has been my intention, for several years past, to publish my thoughts upon religion. I am well aware of the difficulties that attend the subject, and from that consideration, had reserved it to a more advanced period of life....

I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.

I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.

But, lest it should be supposed that I believe in many other things in addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work, declare the things I do not believe, and my reasons for not believing them.

I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine.

Answer 2

If you ask some of the founding fathers, you would find two schools of thought. Some have been quoted as calling him a "dandy" (that could be thought of as prissy or homosexual). Others, believed the Common Sense was a seminal work in the foundation of this country. He was a classical liberal, and did not care for government interference.

Thomas Paine would not like the current US government as it has become more intrusive and taxing than the previous British Regime. I am certain, that were he here, he would try to spark another revolution.

Answer 3

When Thomas Paine wrote that, medical care was cheap. A doctor treat you for a chicken, or something else the person could afford. If Paine saw the medical system as it exists today, and how it's controlled by giant corporations, would he still say the same thing?

Answer 4

He was very imporatant to the American Revolution. His pamphlet "Common Sense" was one of the sparks and the voice of the Revolution.

Answer 5

he was very courageous, and he believed in his cause. he was important to history because his pamphlet "Common Sense" made the colonists realize how Britain was taking advantage of them, and united them under a same belief.