An article in the journal The Log of the Mystic Seaport in December, 1948 recounts an oral history of the Haley family there. It seems that Captain Nathan Haley, according to the oral history, was a friend of Thomas Paine.
Unlike the political theorists employed by our own self-important news media, Paine doesn’t think it the duty of the political writer to keep things running quietly and smoothly. His aim is to arm ordinary individuals with the weapon with which to defend themselves against organized deception and arbitrary power.
More than a change of “persons and measures”, the nascent United States embodied in one nation of free and independent states a change of principles and synthesis of ideas that marked out a position on which to freely apply the lever of reason. We see this in hindsight.
The sale of 150,000 copies within a matter of months furnished Thomas Jefferson with the proof of a national resolve that encouraged him to fit Paine’s reasoning to the writing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.
I will make no attempt to comment on any of the contributions, to fully appreciate them, it is sufficient to say they contain much that is of value and it’s good that they have been now been put into print thanks to Dr. Chumbley, a TPS member, who transcribed them.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine: In Search Of The Common Good Read Post »
The following saga combines the most comprehensive account yet of the fate of Thomas Paine’s remains, the intriguing story of the recent discovery of a vestige of those, and the recounting of a bizarre, scientific endeavour to validate that piece. It is a tale of fact, probability and possibility.
An Extended History of the Remains of Thomas Paine Read Post »
The author starts his search in New York, initially tracking down the house that Thomas Paine died in and visiting various other sites associated with his last days, before his burial at his farm in New Rochelle.
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 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.
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.
It was William Cobbett who dug up Paine’s bones in the dead of night in 1819 and brought them back to England with the intention of building a mausoleum in his honour. Appropriately the ship carrying his remains was the ‘Hercules’.
From the time that his first biographer, Francis Oldys, adopted Thomas Paine, the son of a Thetford stay-maker, as a subject, all others have accepted the fact that he fathered no children. Recent examination of records, from a long time past, suggest that he might have done.
A Small Addition To The Writings On Thomas Paine (1), Quakers Read Post »
