| − | '''Thomas Paine''' (Thetford, England, 1737 - New York City, 1809) was a [[political]] and [[religious]] writer born in Thetford, [[England]], who came to [[America]] in 1774. His 1776 pamphlet ''"[[Common Sense]]"'' was a major cause of the American decision to [[Declaration of Independence|declare independence]] on July 2nd. It explained [[republicanism]] and the evils of having a king in very clear language. Selling an estimated 500,000 copies in colonial America where the total population was only 2.5 million,<ref>http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/01/thomas-paine-the-original-publishing-viral-superstar/</ref> and also read aloud in taverns and churches, ''Common Sense'' reached most of the attentive public in all 13 colonies. | + | '''Thomas Paine''' (Thetford, England, 1737 - New York City, 1809) was primarily a [[political]] writer born in Thetford, [[England]], who came to [[America]] in 1774. His 1776 pamphlet ''"[[Common Sense]]"'' was a major cause of the American decision to [[Declaration of Independence|declare independence]] on July 2nd. It explained [[republicanism]] and the evils of having a king in very clear language. Selling an estimated 500,000 copies in colonial America where the total population was only 2.5 million,<ref>http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/01/thomas-paine-the-original-publishing-viral-superstar/</ref> and also read aloud in taverns and churches, ''Common Sense'' reached most of the attentive public in all 13 colonies. |
| − | [[Phyllis Schlafly]], the leader of the grassroots movement that defeated the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] and made the [[Republican Party]] [[pro-life]], greatly admired Thomas Paine for his effectiveness in educating and mobilizing the people through his writings. | + | [[Phyllis Schlafly]], the leader of the grassroots movement that defeated the [[Equal Rights Amendment]] and made the [[Republican Party]] [[pro-life]], greatly admired Thomas Paine for his effectiveness in educating and mobilizing the people through his political writing. |
| | Late in 1776 when the war was going poorly for the Patriots, General [[George Washington]] ordered that Paine's inspirational ''"American Crisis"'' (1776) be read to his troops before the Battle of Trenton. Paine supported the Revolution, although he believed it did not go far enough. He briefly lived in the rebelling colonies before returning to Europe in time to take part in the [[French Revolution]]. There he wrote ''"The Rights of Man"'' (1791). | | Late in 1776 when the war was going poorly for the Patriots, General [[George Washington]] ordered that Paine's inspirational ''"American Crisis"'' (1776) be read to his troops before the Battle of Trenton. Paine supported the Revolution, although he believed it did not go far enough. He briefly lived in the rebelling colonies before returning to Europe in time to take part in the [[French Revolution]]. There he wrote ''"The Rights of Man"'' (1791). |