In 1964, there was political opposition to the erection of Paine’s statue outside King’s House in Thetford, UK which was a gift from the American Thomas Paine Foundation. The controversy led to the foundation of the Thomas Paine Society UK with a goal of promoting a better understanding of the man and his work. The Thomas Paine Society UK became the premier Thomas Paine historical society in the UK. In 2025, the Thomas Paine National Historical Association merged with the Thomas Paine Society UK to form the internationally-focused Thomas Paine Historical Association. This is the archive of the Thomas Paine Society UK Bulletin from 1965 to 2013.
The possible influence of Thomas Paine frightened the political establishment of Britain, and one of the means taken to influence public opinion against him was character assassination, another was to inflame prejudice against him.
I think the only new revelation that emerged from Professor Vincent’s research is the fact that Paine attended masonic meetings in France and in America, although it is doubtful that he was actually a mason himself.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine Ou La Religion Se La Liberte Read Post »
THIS very readable work is in a way a memorial to the late George Spater, a member of the Thomas Paine Society who wrote a very fine two volume biography of William Cobbett which was published in 1982.
BOOK REVIEW: Citizen Of The World, Essays On Thomas Paine Read Post »
THE tale of the recent discovery of the portrait of the celebrated propagandist, Thomas Paine, painted by the “Patriot-Artist,” Colonel Trumbull, for Thomas Jefferson—a picture which dropped out of sight over a century ago—is worth telling in some detail.
Paine was not a Mason, but like all the American, British or French Masons with whom be used to mix, he was a builder; the builder of a democratic system or Ideal based on freedom, equality, social solidarity, and brotherhood.
Thomas Paine, Freemasonry And The American Revolution Read Post »
Unfortunately this new book, although well written and giving a reasonably comprehensive insight into the background events which the author feels influenced the development of Paine’s thinking, I do not think it gets above the routine.
I have no hesitation in stressing the fact that this is a very important work, perhaps the most important in the field of freethought published for many years, which will become an essential reference tool not just to those associated with organised unbelief but all serious scholars and researchers interested in the field.
I find the material Professor Alves selected offers a balanced group which introduces readers not simply to the debate, but even propel them further. This is an important work not just of value to university students, for which it is intended, but also to historians, educationalists and the general reader.
Reactions to Paine have coloured the understanding and appreciation of him, and he has been recognised as primarily a political or religious figure, but there is an important feature of his work which has long been neglected, his interest in science.
It should not be forgotten that 1776, the year the Illuminati was founded, was a year of revolution in America. While the charges of belonging to the Illuminati made against them by their opponents were unfounded, it cannot be denied that many of the American revolutionaries were active Freemasons.
The Illuminati: Secret Societies In 18th Century Radical Politics Read Post »
The impressions we have of fighting in the American War of Independence are largely gathered from romanticised films made in Hollywood. However, the times of Thomas Paine are more remote and perspective often focuses more accurately on individuals and events.
Thomas Paine and the Care Of The Continental Army Read Post »
THIS book unquestionably establishes its author, who is a Vice-President of the TPS, as the world’s leading Paine scholar. It is a comprehensive examination of the intellectual content of Paine’s works as a whole.
