On the one hand there is Karl Marx, a Communist and political exile in London, on the other Charles Bradlaugh, who rose from humble origins to become the leading nineteenth century advocate of Secularism and a MP for Northampton. Both were political giants.
BOOK REVIEW: Bradlaugh Contra Marx, Radicalism And Socialism In The First International Read Post »
In his book, Professor Jack Fruchtman writes that there is insufficient evidence to answer the question: “It has long been questioned whether Paine was a member of the Masons. There is no definitive proof either way. There is no specific date known on which he joined nor a specific lodge.”
Thomas Paine and Masonry Read Post »
By Terry Liddle Two Cocks On The Dunghill, William Cobbett and Henry Hunt: Their Friendship, feuds and fights. Penny Young. Twopenny Press, South Lopham, Norfolk, 2009. 384pp Paperback, ISBN 978-0-9561703-0-9. £17.95 There have been numerous biographies of William Cobbett, but only one of Henry Hunt although Hunt was no less an important and prominent figure
Thomas Paine’s bridge of diplomacy, both as a practical bridge and as a symbolic bridge between nations and political eras, centred on his proposal for a single span iron bridge braced by strong abutments cast from nature in the design of a spider’s web.
Thomas Paine and the Iron Bridge of Diplomacy Read Post »
Thomas Paine called himself a citizen of the world and as if to sustain this claim was an active revolutionary in Britain, France and America. If any one of his contemporaries deserves the title more it is William Duane.
BOOK REVIEW: Transoceanic Radical: William Duane Read Post »
Abraham Lincoln, the father of the modern Republican Party, was converted to deism by reading The Age of Reason. He wrote a pamphlet extolling Paine’s views which his friends tossed into the stove. Even the bumbling third rate movie actor Ronald Reagan could quote Paine.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine His Life, His Time and The Birth of Modem Nations Read Post »
Described by T. E. Uttley of the Daily Telegraph as “that evil man Tom Paine”, Thomas Paine was for generations of radicals, secularists and republicans an example and an inspiration. My first port of call was the Great Harry public house in Woolwich.
Paine’s Influence On 19th And 20th Century Radicals, Secularists And Republicans 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.
Thomas Paine And The Mexican Revolution Read Post »
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 »
Thomas Paine was known to Polish exiles, both in the United States and in France. Therefore it is natural to enquire, as does Libiszowsk (1998), what may have been the attitude of Paine to the occurrences in Poland.
Thomas Paine And The Polish Constitution Of 3 May, 1791 Read Post »
Thomas Paine was not by nature a revolutionary; he was a reformer. His early attitude towards both government and religion was benign, and when his early history is finally presented to the public it will at last become apparent that he was originally a conformist.
Thomas Paine: His Decision To Publish The Age Of Reason Read Post »
Although the second-rank Girondins who remained alive were restored, like him, to their seats in the Convention in 1794, and were influential in producing the directorial constitution of the Year III, that attempt to get back to the principles of 1789 was no more successful than the first revolutionary constitution
Thomas Paine And The Girondins Read Post »
