Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Founding Father

     Thomas Paine, 'That filthy little atheist' according to Theodore Roosevelt, is not often associated with the other Founding Fathers such as Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Adams, but should he be?  Paine is an intriguing figure that this author can relate to at times.  He wrote and communicated with a passion that bordered, and often crossed over into, anger about the political state of world affairs.  Differing from other 18th century leaders, Paine was not concerned with his image, or how others viewed him.  His bold an daring writing challenged the established power and cultural structure of America and Europe.  He is most famously known for his pamphlet Common Sense, which according to Gordon Wood, is the most influential and best piece of literature pinned in the English language.  But who was Thomas Paine?

     He spent almost the entire first four decades of his life living in England doing jobs ranging from tax collecting to preaching.  Paine had not achieved anything of merit during this period of his life.  After careful thought, this author believes one event changed Paine's life forever.  The death of his wife and child during child birth.  This event scarred Paine and influenced his relationships with women for the rest of his life.  It is after this event that Paine began to pursue a life of challenging the status quo.  First, by attempting to attain raises for other tax collectors, which led to him being dismissed from his position according to Wood.  He soon moved to America where he began work on Common Sense, which changed American thought forever.  This pamphlet became the most read piece of literature of the 18th century and brought Paine into contact with such figures as Washington and Jefferson.  Although he was respected for his thoughts and writing, he was never truly accepted as a gentleman and was often described as a drunkard.  Paine never truly felt respected for his work and seemed to want to incite debate on any established beliefs.  This was his downfall in America, when he chose to attack Christianity as one of the worst things to ever happen to man.  This earned him the title of atheist, even though in fact he was a deist like Jefferson and Washington.  Sensing the coming trouble in France, Paine traveled to Europe to participate in the revolution.  This revolution would turnout to be very different from the American version, and would eventually land Paine in jail.  He returned to America a miserable and unhappy man and died several years after returning.

     It is the opinion of this author that Paine was a broken man after the death of his wife and child.  It seems as if this tragedy sparked an anger for everything and anything that was in 'control'.  If it be God or government, he was determined to change things by his own will.  There seems to be an inner conflict that he fights and then writes in a cathartic way, because even though he would defame Christianity, after the death of his wife he actually spent time as a preacher.  Paine was a broken man, prone to drink and anger, gifted in writing, and someone never able to find peace in his life.  His sad existence and his blatant honesty of thought is probably why we don't place him among his peers.  

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee

I would like to give credit to Pulitzer prize winner Gordon Wood and other historical sources for the information provided.