Our collection of articles, records and reviews about Thomas Paine and England.
This short essay is unquestionably a major contribution to Paine studies, though likely on the controversial side in that it casts Paine in a role few of his admirers would have thought possible, for it is the belief of the author that Paine was ‘an undercover agent’ for George III.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine: The Case Of The King Of England And His Officers Of Excise Read Post »
The traditional way of looking at Paine as an Enlightenment political propagandist or as a Newtonian Deist is not explicit enough to distinguish him from others. Nor do these descriptions of Paine enable one to explain why Paine appeals to such a variety of radical, liberal and even conservative causes.
Paine, I am sure, was never “just” an exciseman, a teacher, staymaker, or storekeeper. His mental activity, interest in science, government and human relations, implied that there was far more bigger and grander things for him to do.
Paine admired the teachings of Jesus, and he went to great lengths to free them from smothering additions, which had been drawn from the mythology of ancient cults and grafted onto them by the churchmakers who usurped Jesus’s role of teacher.
The intellectual condition of England at the time when Thomas Paine entered the world in 1737 and for many years afterwards is well described by Friedrich Engels: ‘The peasants at that time used to lead a quiet, peaceful life of honest piety harassed by few worries.”
Once the War of Independence was ended no other English emigrant who had fought in the War, to my knowledge, was accused of being a “traitor” to his country of origin. But Paine was a dangerous political writer and the ‘traitor” myth is maintained.
The meteoric political career of Thomas Paine was so dazzling that it has largely eclipsed the events of his formative years during which he obtained the expertise and developed the tenacity that enabled him to respond to the opportunity afforded by the rapid changes in the American colonies.
Mr. Blaydon was an expert on local history, being also an Associate of the Royal Historical Society. In the correspondence appear notes on many topics of interest to students of Paine what may have happened to Paine’s bones, whether Paine was a Freemason, and details of the Rev. William Knowles.
The principal event held to date to commemorate the 175th Anniversary of the publication of Rights of Man has been the exhibition organised jointly by the Nottingham Co-operative Society, Private Libraries Association and the Thomas Paine Society at the Co-operative Arts Centre, Nottingham.
A member of the Thetford Council has resigned over the decision to erect the statue, but the guests who accepted an invitation to attend included Sir Charles Wheeler, President of the Royal Academy, who made the statue for the Thomas Paine Foundation of America to present to Thetford.
The historic first A.G.M. of the Thomas Paine Society took place in the Sussex town of Lewes on Saturday, November 14th. It was a fitting conclusion to a very active year’s work and fittingly held in a town with many Paine associations.
Thomas Paine Society First Annual General Meeting Read Post »
Rev. Willoughby N. Claybrook writes appreciation of Captain Graves’ volume and hopes it will lead to wider reading of “Letters Of Junius” and Tom Paine.
