Thomas Paine

At the beginning of 1776, and then at the end, Thomas Paine published two highly influential pamphlets that form perfect bookends to that revolutionary year of American history. In January, Common Sense urged Americans to throw off their attachments to Great Britain, declare their independence, and form a government of their own. Then in December, The American Crisis No. 1 urged Americans to rise up during a desperate and dark time of the Revolutionary War to rededicate themselves to winning the war and achieving the Independence they had declared just six months before.

This small book is about Paine's role and writings during 1776, how he helped Americans by offering ideas to help them found a new nation, and why we should remember Paine for more than just his rebel-rousing during the year of American Independence. The book also examines how Paine and George Washington built a productive partnership--one a man with his sword and the other a pen--to finish the year with a surprising American victory at the first Battle of Trenton the day after Christmas. The book probes some long-told stories and myths about the role Paine played during the Crossing of the Delaware and tries to set the record straight. The book concludes by examining a curious scientific experiment that Paine and Washington conducted at the end of the war in 1783, a relaxing time for both men at the time, and then the subsequent deterioration of their relationship years later.

Excerpts of Common Sense and Crisis 1 are included.