FAQs

Paine played a similar role in the French Revolution to that in the American Revolution. His Common Sense was translated into French and was widely read, which greatly spurred on the forces against monarchy and for democracy. He wrote Rights of Man in defense of the French Revolution against the attacks of England, and he […]

Bordentown is the only place in the world where Paine bought property. He was given a farm in New Rochelle, NY by the State Assembly, but never chose a place to buy outside of Bordentown. The house he actually bought, along with a piece of land across Crosswicks Creek, was on Church St. W. It

Paine was a staunch abolitionist despite the fact that he seldom wrote on the subject. The biographies on Paine are in error when they attribute “African Slavery in America” and “A Serious Thought” to Paine, and Paine was not a founding member of the first abolitionist organization established in Philadelphia in 1775. However Paine always

Paine was trained at an early age to follow his father's trade as a staymaker. The first biography of Paine by Oldys (who was paid by an English Lord to slander Paine) characterized Paine as "corset-maker" to deride him. This is one of the many slanders spread to this day to discredit him. Paine trained

Paine was a strong advocate for women's equal rights, but he did not promote it publicly. His early writings reflect sympathy for women's social, economic and political rights. He collaborated with Catherine Macaulay in his early writing career in the 1760s, and he associated and worked closely with Mary Wollstonecraft in England in the early

He favored the idea of the Constitution to establish the government (it was his idea in 1783), but he strongly argued against the conservative and elitist nature of it. He attacked two major areas: a single executive, and a two-body legislature, one being smaller and more powerful than the other. He favored only a representative

Thomas Paine is the only Founder without a gravesite. The story of his remains reflect the collossal life and works of Paine himself and his legacy. He was first buried in New Rochelle, NY on his farm, after the Quakers refused him, in a town very hostile to him. A Paine admirer, William Cobbett, himself

No. Paine was an only child, and he never had children (that survived). There have been several claims or beliefs from people thinking they are descendants because of similar names, or family mythologies. But none have borne out. The claims center around three possibilities (all of which have been proven false): first, that from Paine’s

Paine never signed his name “Tom” Paine. He always used Thomas. “Tom” was invented by his detractors, and they were the only ones who used it in the beginning. “Tom” came from the attacks and slanders by his enemies (the churches and the monarchists and some of the Federalists) as a way to demean him

Yes. Previously it was claimed that American Crisis III was the source of this name. There are at least two private letters who use the language “united States of America”, but they use “united” (small “U”) as an adjective. However, writing as “Republicus” on June 29, 1776 Paine made the first public declaration calling for

Like most topics in American history, there are two camps of historians. One group, which has emerged since the 1960’s, recognizes Paine as the preeminent Founder. As the 200 years of institutional neglect of Paine has lost its hold on scholarship, many historians and authors are correcting the record and bringing Paine to the forefront.