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.
Paine had very enlarged ideas of the rights of others and was, upon principle, a thorough friend to the civil and religious liberties of all mankind. In conversation he was open and liberal, and at the same time serious and instructive.
Young Thomas Paine, Wesleyan Methodist Or Rational Dissenter? Read Post »
Because it advocated the franchise, Anarchists were critical of the Suffragette movement. However, it should be noted that Sylvia Pankhurst’s group which became the Workers’ Socialist Federation would share many of the Anarchists’ criticisms of the outcome of the 1917 Russian Revolution.
BOOK REVIEW: Anarchist Ideas And Counter-Cultures In Britain, 1880-1914 Read Post »
In 1810, Mexico struck out for independence from Spain. The leader of the revolution was an apostate priest and Freemason Manual Hidalgo who was shocked by the poverty and injustice suffered by the Indians who were his flock.
A recent article by Leo Bressler entitled ‘Peter Porcupine and the Bones of Thomas Paine’ gives pause to consider the nature of history; particularly the nature of good history. There is always a great deal to ponder and often a good deal of useful information and/or history.
Correspondence: Leo Bressler on ‘Peter Porcupine and the Bones of Thomas Paine’ Read Post »
In June, 1797 an impoverished bookseller Thomas Williams was charged with blasphemy for having sold a single copy of Paine’s Age of Reason, the prosecution having been initiated by an organisation with the grand title of the Society for Enforcing the King’s Proclamation against Immorality and Profaneness.
This book was both stimulating and a pleasure to read for the author writes extremely well. Almost Painite in style, I am tempted to say. His essays are fully referenced with his notes being placed below the pages to which they apply rather than at the end of each essay.
BOOK REVIEW: The Transatlantic Republican, Thomas Paine And The Age Of Revolutions Read Post »
Thomas Paine did not die in poverty or without friends. I sincerely hope that my readers on both sides of the pond will correct this “historical” mistake, whenever they hear it, let us set the record straight for Thomas Paine and history.
In 1793, speaking to the French National Convention on the 19th of January Paine declared, “My language has always been that of liberty and humanity, and I know that nothing so exalts a nation as the union of these two principles, under all circumstances.”
Thomas Paine: Empire and War in the Twenty First Century Read Post »
Contested Sites deserves a wide readership. It contains much I found new and it has prompted me to wonder what other radical monuments lurk forgotten around the country and also what might be said to constitute one.
The fame which these writings brought to Thomas Paine during the Revolution is known to every school boy. Not so well known are the pathos and tragedy of the closing years of his life. A national hero at the end of the war, Paine saw his reputation swept away.
The writings, thoughts and indeed the eventful life of Thomas Paine regularly leaves an indelible mark upon a significant number of us who have lived after him. He challenges and excites the receptive just as much as he can infuriate those who have already made their minds up.
Paine suggested in 1796 that every young person should receive an inheritance of capital of £15 at the age of 21, financed by a fund to be created out of a levy on inheritance. I unknowingly reinvented this idea and named it Universal Inheritance.
Universal Inheritance, Universal Suffrage And Thomas Paine Read Post »
