Thomas Paine: Founding Fathers Of The United States

Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in 1775. Thomas Paine was born in England and did very poorly in school as a child. He eventually failed out and was forced to go to work. After working for his father, he went on to work in a tax office (Ushistory). After migrating to America he began working in journalism. Paine wrote many works that caused him a load of trouble. He was imprisoned for not agreeing with the execution of Louis XVI. During this time he wrote the work, The Age of Reason, which is said to be his most famous piece of writing. Paine was one of the Founding Fathers of The United States of America and was part of the National Convention (Ushistory). He passed away at 72, on June 8th 1809. Paine’s purpose of writing, Common Sense, seemed to be to show his true feelings about America’s independence from England.
One of the first things Paine writes in Common …show more content…
It seems that he is in favor of a more representative government. He discusses throughout the work that elected representatives should never have interested that differ from the people that elected them. The elected and the elector should support each other in the matters that concern (Paine, 1775). This is much unlike England, in which a King has most of the power. He goes on to say that in, “free countries, the law ought to be King,” because it is “our natural right (Paine, 1775).” By this statement alone, Paine makes it clear that he is absolutely against the government that England has and he