Do you know of the man Thomas Paine? I’ll admit I knew very little other than that he was involved in early revolutionary politics and the author of some political pamphlets. On my Google Homepage I get a This Day In History snippet.
It was 233 years ago when Paine self published Common Sense, which convinced many colonists, including George Washington and John Adams, to seek redress in political independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain . Here are a couple great quotes from the 233 year old pamphlet:
“But where says some is the king of America? I’ll tell you friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the royal brute of Britain. … so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king.”
“. . . have every opportunity and every encouragement before us, to form the noblest purest constitution on the face of the earth. We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand, and a race of men, perhaps as numerous as all Europe contains, are to receive their portion of freedom from the event of a few months.”
It truly is wonderful that inspired men laid the foundation for the freedoms enjoyed today by so many.
As a final trivia piece it was Paine that first suggested the name The United States of America.
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