Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine

On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in England. He dropped out of school by the age of 12, tried being a sea adventurer, and finally ended up as a tax collector in England. He didn't excel at this job, so he turned to journalism. He met Benjamin Franklin in London the year 1774, Franklin helped him immigrate to Philadelphia. He suddenly became very important, when he inspired momentum all around the colonies with nothing but a small pamphlet called "Common Sense". "Common Sense" was about a strong defense of American independence from England.
This small but powerful book inspired the drafting of the declaration of independence.

Paine then traveled with the Continental Army but didn't succeed as a soldier either. However, he then published a book called "The American Crisis", which inspired the soldiers. This book was also a great success, just as his earlier publishes. Almost everyone read it or had it read to them. However, Paine decided to return to Europe and look for new adventures. He worked on candles and an iron bridge in France, and later wrote another book concerning the French Revolution, "The Rights of Man".

As you might expect, Paine was outlawed in England due to his views.  He would have been arrested, but he fled for France to join the National Convention. He was imprisoned in France the year 1793, for not endorsing the execution of Louis XVI. During his time in jail he wrote another book about church, which was a great success too. A year later, 1794, he was freed after almost being executed. He lived in France until 1892, when he returned to America because Thomas Jefferson invited him. He discovered all his contributions to the american revolution were eradicated because of his religious views. Paine died alone on June 8,1809 in New York City.