Thomas Paine dec of independance?

Question

did he produce the first draft of the declaration of independance
or did jefferson do it all with the help of others.
someone told me that he produced the first draft

Answer 1

I know of NO good evidence for such a theory nor any of many solid scholars of the period who give it any credence today.

Here's what the Williams article (linked in another answer) somehow misses, and many simply are unaware of.

MAIN POINT -- The basic language and arguments of the Declaration were NOT original. Jefferson (and perhaps to some extent Franklin and John Adams who sat on the committee) was writing something very similar to other documents written by the various states as well as by the First Continental Congress --all modeled on older English legal and political documents (esp. the "English Bill of Rights" of 1689)-- as well as on the political theories of John Locke (for the preamble).

If you simply read through some of these documents -- and esp. the English Bill of Rights and the recently completed Constitution of Virginia -- you will find nearly all the features Williams tries to credit to Paine's style. Note note Virginia's Constitution was drafted in two parts, both of which echo the English Bill of Rights (EBR) AND the "Declarations and Resolves" (D&R) passed by the First Continental Congress in October 1774 (itself drawing on the Bill of Rights).

The first part, drafted by George Mason, begins with Lockean references to the rights of "life, liberty, property and ... HAPPINESS" (so Mason and Locke, not Paine, accounts for this sort of language.. and again, compare the Declarations and Resolves).

The second part was drafted by Jefferson himself.. and, like the English Bill of Rights, the Declarations and Resolves and other state declarations (included mostly in new state constitutions) of the 1770s, included a long list of "abuses" by the King as the heart of the document -- the justification of this action/declaration. There is no particular reason to attribute a long list of abuses to Paine when that was the GENERAL style of the time, not to mention the HEART of the document!! (just as it was for the EBR and D&R).

It also seems that Adams, Franklin and perhaps other members of Congress suggested items that Jefferson ought to make sure to include in the draft.

Other fine points don't prove much. For example, the use of the 'archaic' form "hath" is not at all unusual in the FORMAL language of these sorts of documents -- you will find it in ALL the documents listed below, along with other "archaisms" NONE of these men would use in their own letters, writings or speeches.

Or on the notion that Jefferson would not have expressed antipathy to the "Scotch" mercenaries -- well, he continued to criticize the "Scotch Tories" for decades after this! compare: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/scottish_american.htm

(The statement that Scotch would be "foreign" to Jefferson is quite odd. Remember, these folks still regarded the English, etc. as their BROTHERS, and had been making much of their appeal about their RIGHTS to their status as ENGLISHMAN... so Jefferson grew up with a vantage point not so different from Paine's on this point.)

In short, I find NOTHING to commend the "Paine drafted it" legend. There is no strong evidence for it, and in light of both his own capabilities (as well as those of Adams and Franklin) and the traditions and documents he was drawing on, there was no NEED for it!

English Bill of Rights, 1689
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1776-1800/independence/doitj.htm

Declarations and Resolves (First Continental Congress, 1774)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/resolves.htm

Virginia Declaration of Rights (Mason, 1776)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/virginia.htm

Draft Constitution of State of Virginia (Jefferson, 1776)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffcons.htm

Answer 2

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Dec. of Independence. That's Common Sense.

Answer 3

Jefferson and Paine were life-long friends. Jefferson's writing was influenced by Paine, but there is no definitive proof that Paine did any actual writing of the Declaration' only Jefferson.

Answer 4

while Thomas Paine wrote that, medical care exchange into low priced. a doctor manage you for a hen, or some thing else the guy ought to deal with to pay for. If Paine observed the medical gadget because it exists as we talk, and how that is controlled by potential of vast companies, might he nonetheless say the comparable ingredient?