Thomas Paine

Escrito en un estilo vibrante y directo, "Sentido común", del escritor y activista inglés Thomas Paine (1737-1809), es un texto imprescindible para comprender la forma y el fondo de la revolución que llevaria al nacimiento de los Estados Unidos de America. Publicada en 1776, pocos meses antes de la Declaracion de Independencia, y concebida para la agitacion politica, la obra, cuyo titulo hace alusion al motivo mas palmario que habia de impulsar la independencia de las colonias norteamericanas respecto a la metropoli, se difundio como un incendio, animando a las trece colonias a sacudirse el yugo britanico y a crear una sociedad nueva como causa del progreso de la humanidad. La importancia de "Sentido comun", sin embargo, no se agota en su contexto, sino que lo trasciende para convertirse en una de las reivindicaciones mas brillantes de todos los tiempos de la igualdad de los hombres frente a la tirania y el despotismo. Completan el volumen las ocho Cartas escritas a los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos mas veinticinco años mas tarde, en las que arde el ultimo aliento revolucionario de Paine.Introduccion de Javier Redondo Rodelas

In the opening year, 1793, when revolutionary France had beheaded its king, the wrath turned next upon the King of kings, by whose grace every tyrant claimed to reign. But eventualities had brought among them a great English and American heartThomas Paine. He had pleaded for Louis Caper"Kill the king but spare the man." Now he pleaded,"Disbelieve in the King of kings, but do not confuse with that idol the Father of Mankind!"

In 1776, writer Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense, setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries.Originally published anonymously, Common Sense advocated independence for the American colonies from Britain and is considered one of the most influential pamphlets in American history. Credited with uniting average citizens and political leaders behind the idea of independence, Common Sense played a remarkable role in transforming a colonial squabble into the American Revolution.In the introduction to the pamphlet, Paine says that he knows many will not favor his argument because it challenges the status quo of the colonies and the rule of the British government...Thomas Paine is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States. His work was key during the American Revolution and for the independence movement.

"The American Crisis" is a collection of articles by English-American philosopher Thomas Paine that were published during the American Revolution between 1776 and 1783. In this pamphlet Paine expressed his support towards an independent America that would be self-governed. Starting from the first article, he tries to convince the colonists to support the war against Britain.Thomas Paine is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States. His work, which includes "Common Sense" (1776), was key during the American Revolution and for the independence movement.

El valor permanente de este libro clásico, más allá de su propósito polémico coyuntural, descansa en su planteamiento de la posibilidad de un cambio total y extrae su vigor de «la modernidad de sus i

(See also #147)

El sentido común gozó en su época de extraordinaria popularidad por simbolizar la nueva idea de una poderosa y liberal América, independiente de la madre Inglaterra y portadora de la nuea ideología de la igualdad de derechos politicos de los ciudadanos y de la libertad economica.

The American Crisis by Thomas Paine The American Crisis, or simply The Crisis, is a pamphlet series by eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosopher and author Thomas Paine, originally published from 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolution.Thirteen numbered pamphlets were published between 1776 and 1777, with three additional pamphlets released between 1777 and 1783. The first of the pamphlets was published in The Pennsylvania Journal on December 19, 1776. Paine signed the pamphlets with the pseudonym, "Common Sense".The pamphlets were contemporaneous with early parts of the American Revolution, when colonists needed inspiring works. The American Crisis series was used to "recharge the revolutionary cause.Paine, like many other politicians and scholars, knew that the colonists were not going to support the American Revolutionary War without proper reason to do so. Written in a language that the common person could understand, they represented Paines liberal philosophy.Paine also used references to God, saying that a war against Great Britain would be a war with the support of God. Paines writings bolstered the morale of the American colonists, appealed to the British peoples consideration of the war, clarified the issues at stake in the war, and denounced the advocates of a negotiated peace. The first volume famously begins: "These are the times that try mens souls.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine Common Sense[1] is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 17751776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation.It was sold and distributed widely and read aloud at taverns and meeting places. In proportion to the population of the colonies at that time (2.5 million), it had the largest sale and circulation of any book published in American history.As of 2006, it remains the all-time best-selling American title and is still in print today.Common Sense made public a persuasive and impassioned case for independence, which had not yet been given serious intellectual consideration. Paine connected independence with common dissenting Protestant beliefs as a means to present a distinctly American political identity and structured Common Sense as if it were a sermon.Historian Gordon S. Wood described Common Sense as "the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era."The text was translated into French by Antoine Gilbert Griffet de Labaume in 1790.

Enormously popular and widely read pamphlet, first published in January of 1776, clearly and persuasively argues for American separation from Great Britain and paves the way for the Declaration of Independence. This highly influential landmark document attacks the monarchy, cites the evils of government and combines idealism with practical economic concerns.

The Age of Reason: Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology by Thomas Paine The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century British deism, and challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the Bible. It was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807.It was a best-seller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. British audiences, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French Revolution, received it with more hostility.The Age of Reason presents common deistic arguments; for example, it highlights what Paine saw as corruption of the Christian Church and criticizes its efforts to acquire political power. Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as an ordinary piece of literature, rather than a divinely-inspired text. In The Age of Reason, he promotes natural religion and argues for the existence of a creator-god.Most of Paines arguments had long been available to the educated elite, but by presenting them in an engaging and irreverent style, he made deism appealing and accessible to the masses.Originally distributed as unbound pamphlets, the book was also cheap, putting it within the reach of a large number of buyers. Fearing the spread of what it viewed as potentially-revolutionary ideas, the British government prosecuted printers and booksellers who tried to publish and distribute it. Nevertheless, Paines work inspired and guided many free thinkers.

Tomas Paine es un autor que ha recuperado un extraordinario interés en la opinión pública por su valor testimonial como protagonista destacado de dos revoluciones (la americana y la francesa) y por el estilo directo y vivo de su obra, que es ademas la exposicion en un lenguaje facilmente comprensible de la ideologia de la Ilustracion. En el presente volumen se ofrecen al lector diversas obras hasta ahora no traducidas. El sentido comun gozo en su epoca de extraordinaria popularidad por simbolizar la nueva idea de una poderosa y liberal America, independiente de la madre Inglaterra y portadora de la nueva ideologia de la igualdad de derechos politicos de los ciudadanos y de la libertad economica

IN the opening year, 1793, when revolutionary France had beheaded its king, the wrath turned next upon the King of kings, by whose grace every tyrant claimed to reign. But eventualities had brought among them a great English and American heartThomas Paine. He had pleaded for Louis Caper"Kill the king but spare the man." Now he pleaded,"Disbelieve in the King of kings, but do not confuse with that idol the Father of Mankind!"

What Archimedes said of the mechanical powers, may be applied to Reason and Liberty. "Had we," said he, "a place to stand upon, we might raise the world."The revolution of America presented in politics what was only theory in mechanics. So deeply rooted were all the governments of the old world, and so effectually had the tyranny and the antiquity of habit established itself over the mind, that no beginning could be made in Asia, Africa, or Europe, to reform the political condition of man. Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think.

Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first a patron, the last a punisher.

Thomas Paine was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he inspired the rebels in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. Paine is the only English writer who expresses with uncompromising sharpness the abstract doctrine of political rights held by the French revolutionists. His relation to the American struggle, and afterwards to the revolution of 1789, gave him a unique position, and his writings became the sacred books of the extreme radical party in England. This edition contains all four original volumes with his most famous works from 1774 through 1796. Included are "The American Crisis", "Common Sense", "The Rights of Man" and "The Age of Reason".

Editor: Moncure Daniel Conway