Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine (born 29 January 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England—died 8 June 1809, New York,
U.S.) was an English-born American writer, political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and
revolutionary whose Common Sense pamphlet and Crisis papers were important influences on the
American Revolution and helped inspire the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Great
Britain, hitherto an unpopular cause. He is seen by many as a key figure in the emergence of claims
for the state’s responsibilities for welfare and educational provision, and his Age of Reason provided
a popular deist text that remained influential throughout the nineteenth century. In his own lifetime,
and subsequently, he has been extensively vilified and often dismissed. Yet, many of his ideas still
command wide interest and enthusiasm in readers throughout the world.