... The Writer, and the Military Man: How George Washington, Thomas Paine, and Andrew Jackson Helped Construct America’s Identity All of America’s founding fathers contributed greatly to the formation of the United States and helped build this nation through their accomplishments and dedication to making their home a better place for all Americans. But of the 55-plus men whom history has given the name of “founding father,” the contributions of George Washington (1732-1799), Thomas Paine (1737-1809), and Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) stand out for their range of accomplishments, their contribution to critical components of democracy and its identity, and to military achievements that helped form the geography of the place we know as America. For me, this statesman, this writer, and this military strategist serve as the greatest examples of the titans of America we call our founding fathers. George Washington was not only our first president to be elected into office, but he is also notable for being the only president in the country’s history to receive a unanimous vote. Although our nation recognizes many founding fathers, Washington is known as the “Father” of The United States for many reasons — and not solely because he was elected as the first President of The United States in 1789 and unanimously elected again in 1792. His accomplishments before, during, and after his presidency have earned him the title “Father” of the United States. Washington assisted Congress with...
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... American Revolution or Age of Revolution The American Revolution, also known as the American Revolutionary War was the conflict that arose from tensions between Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies and the colonial government. By 1755 the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their independence. France soon entered the American Revolution acting as an ally of the colonists in 1778, turning what had been a civil war into an international conflict. After the French assisted, the British soon surrender in 1781, the Americans had finally won their independence. There were many hero’s fighting for independence on the field with guns as well as colonist with pens and pencils fighting too. Many writers during this time wrote poems, novels and songs that spoke on the cruelties of war. Thomas Paine was one of the many hero’s with pens. The base of Paine’s writing was influenced by Paine’s father when he was a young boy. His father’s religion inclined his son’s humanitarianism, and an interest in science helped him grow a hatred for governments that rested on hereditary privilege. That knowledge helped him to write his many pieces that are still famous to this day. Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who helped make the Age of Revolution. He is the author of the very popular pamphlet that was published in 1776. “Common Sense” was the first pamphlet to advocate American independence. He also wrote...
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...Sense Due: November 10, 2013 Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, is a pamphlet that was written in 1775-76. Paine’s purpose for this writing was to be an encouragement to the general people of the thirteen colonies to seek declaration of their independence from Great Britain. Paine’s desire to connect with the common people is evident in his plain and easy to understand writing style; he wrote in an educated, but straight-forward manner. Dubbed a “political quack” by Loyalist, James Chalmers of Maryland in the Plain Truth (New), and accused of producing a “crapulous mass” by none other than John Adams, we see just two examples of the many attacks on Paine, who prevailed to claim such titles as, The Father of the American Revolution (“Thomas Paine's Achievements”). According to history.org, some scholars say that by the end of 1776 at least half of American colonists had read or been aware of the arguments that Paine presented in Common Sense (“Primary Source of the Month”). Because Paine’s belief in the importance of “the Doctrine Itself, not the Man,” he wished for the publication to remain anonymous for as long as possible to keep a focus on the ideas presented instead of him (Paine, n.pag.). Being so widely popular and rumored, Paine’s name appeared on the second edition. In the Introduction, Paine does exactly that, he introduces a basic overview of his grounds for the right to question “a long and violent abuse of power” (Paine, n.pag.), which he details in four main sections...
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...1. Why does Paine write Common Sense anonymously and how does he think his work will be remembered? "In the following sheets, the author hath studiously avoided every thing which is personal among ourselves. Compliments as well as censure to individuals make no part thereof. The wise and the worthy need not the triumph of a pamphlet; and those whose sentiments are injudicious or unfriendly, will cease of themselves, unless too much pains is bestowed upon their conversion." (Thomas Paine) So, basically as much as the book means for the colonists, Paine wanted to be on a rather neutral ground. He had no need for the glory that brought forth by a pamphlet (which is the whole Common Sense) nor he wanted to go against those who would certainly punish him for what his work brought forth. He himself clearly said that only those who got too hurt emotionally by sins they made would spare him for what he wrote. (aiming at the authorities who used violence to suppress the colonists) It is merely a guess from my part but I think what he meant was that he should not be the one the sacrifice but instead the colonists who were being suppressed at the time. He did not want them to rely on anyone but themselves to save their own life. Thus, he probably thought that his work would remain as something written by basically no one at all but merely created by the people' passions for freedom. On other words, the work was only there to raise the spirit of colonist to fight for their own lives and...
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...Harvey J. Kaye believes that the Americas should have treated Thomas Paine better then what they had been treating him. Although in many of his quotes coming from his political reviews and the ideology that have attacked him of his radical ideas about democracy and the advocacy of revolution he brings about social change. In the book “Thomas Paine and the Promise of America,” Kaye elaborates that regardless of the efforts to curb his control of conservatives of virtually every generation since the 1790’s, to most of the America’s liberal movements Paine have been a spiritual father. After providing a brief summary of Paine’s career, Kaye targets on ways his character was shaped, beginning with men was inspired by Paine’s ideas about true democracy. Kaye symbols among several groups of early feminists and abolitionists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson from Transcendental movement. Walt Whitman and Herman Melville are writers, and many others politicians along with Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt a Republican who slandered Paine in the twentieth century. Woodrow Wilson a Democratic did many things without his acknowledgement; and Franklin Roosevelt who is also a Democratic admired Paine by indicating his work to assembly Americans during World War II. Kaye ironically reports that the...
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...There were many things that altered Americans’ perceptions of Britain during the years 1763 to 1775. Samuel Adams was one of them; he was an organizer of Boston’s Sons of Liberty. Samuel Adams organized Boston’s opposition to the Tea Act, which led to the Boston Tea Party, and also devised of the Boston Committee of Correspondence throughout Massachusetts. The committees provided leadership and promoted cooperation. By 1773, several colonies had created committees, which helped build colonial unity. He later worked for the creation of the First Continental Congress and represented Massachusetts in 1774; Adams hoped to win their support for Massachusetts and the crisis. Fortunately for Massachusetts, the other colonies also opposed the Coercive Acts...
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...Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, Norfolk on January 29th, 1737. He was born to Quaker parents. His father, Joseph Paine was a stay-maker and his mother was the daughter of an attorney. After leaving his hometown Thomas eventually switched his career from being a stay-maker like his father to that of a customs official. In 1768, he was assigned to Sussex where he lived for the next six years. Throughout his traveling years from place to another, Paine made sure he educated himself. He bought books and scientific equipment from his scanty earnings and attended lectures. In 1770’s he found his first case and he indulged himself in this cause with a passion. Excise officers throughout Britain were appealing for better salaries and so Paine joined...
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...Thomas Paine was a major supporter of America’s Independence from British rule and expressed it in the 47-page pamphlet, “Common Sense.” (History.com) He was born January 29, 1737, in Thetford, County of Norfolk in England to Joseph, his father who was a Quaker, (a tailor specializing in corset making) and Frances, his mother who was a devout Anglican (a daughter of wealth). He had a sibling who died in infancy. Thus he grew up an only child. The foundation of his knowledge acquired in Europe, where he learned to read, write and the concepts of math at the Grammar School in Thetford. Also, at age thirteen, his father taught him the trade of corset making. Showing even then, his fierce libertarian streak, he ran away from home, running through a series of jobs in England. Being a privateer, he...
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...The Missing Piece of the American Revolution A small band of men sparked one of the most pivotal moments in American independence with a slight tip of a crate. On December 16, 1773, three British ships stocked with tea remained docked in the main port of Boston, Massachusetts. Local, agitated colonists demanded that the ships return to Britain without payment of a duty fee. A Collector of Customs denied the ships’ release until the colonists paid the charge. The stalemate culminated in a small revolt. Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty marched among two hundred men to the wharf. Hollering war chants, they descended onto the ships and threw the offending cargo into the water (Brady 1). Typically, this event defines the quintessential grievance of the colonists; “no taxation without representation” (Waldman 40). Popular images such as the Boston Tea Party typified the revolution as a secular fight for political and economic liberty. However, religion played an equally significant role in the American Revolution. In America’s fight for political independence, different groups used religion to help to mobilize the success of the American Revolution. Patriotic, clergy referenced the Bible to justify the rebellious American spirit against British rule and unite their congregations. Furthermore, political revolutionaries manipulated this public spirituality to gain a stronger and necessary support in the country’s fight for independence. Clergymen, who allied with the revolutionary...
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...223: American Literature Ms. Reed Interpretive Writings on Quotes from Thomas Paine 9:00 /10.00 Time Makes Converse than Reason Thomas Paine, one of our Founding Fathers by virtue of having written "Common Sense," lost many friends and made many enemies with "The Age of Reason. “Paine called himself a Deist, by which he meant that he believed in one God, the Creator of the universe, and in no other, including Son and Holy Ghost. Paine believed that, in order to know God, a person needed to study creation. Creation was the only true word of God, the Bible and all other sacred texts being the work of men, and not at all the word of God. In fact, Paine thought that the Bible, being false, was an impediment to knowing God. The second part of "The Age of Reason" is a book-by-book dismantling of the Bible by its own internal logic. While his own logic is not always perfectly rigorous, he definitely makes an excellent case against the Bible being the word of God. Paine's point of view is that of many in the scientific eighteenth century. By our standards, he was still a little too anthropocentric, in that he thought that creation was meant as a teaching tool for Man's rational mind. He virtually instigated the American Revolution and the break from the shackles of religious slavery. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and many others were Deists who believed the human mind needn't suffer from the dogma of the day nor unscientific, supernatural beliefs. Paine breaks...
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...Part 1: Sense and Sensibilities Common Sense 1. The author Thomas Paine in Common Sense, thinks that the colonies should break away. He does not think that America will flourish and keep growing under Britain. One specific evidence shown from this article is the paragraphs where he is using capitol letters to voice his opinion on the matter. Great Britain protected America only for their own interest. “One example of this is, “We have boasted the protection of Great Britain, without considering, that her motive was INTEREST not ATTACHMENT; but from HER ENEMIES on HER OWN ACCOUNT, from those who had no quarrel with us on any OTHER ACCOUNT, and who will always be our enemies on the SAME ACCOUNT.” Thomas Paine argues that some people say that Great Britain is the parent country of America, but he states if that was true, than why does Great Britain attack their young or make war with their families. “But Britain is the parent country, say some. Then the more shame upon her conduct. Even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make war upon their families.” He also uses this sentence that was very important in his opinion, “We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never to have meat, or that the first twenty years of our lives is to become a precedent for the next twenty. But even this is admitting more than is true; for I answer roundly that America would have flourished as much, and probably much more, had no European power taken...
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...“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance”- Robert Kennedy. This quote certainly applies to the American Revolution and inspires me to stand up to injustice. It is the year 1778 and I am one of the soldiers in George Washington’s Continental Army. In the last year, George Washington and the Continental Army have suffered numerous defeats such as the retreats from Boston, New York City, and finally Philadelphia. So far, our only successes have been at Princeton and Trenton....
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...Hunt wrote many pamphlets, but did not publish many of them. Hunt wrote, in 1765, the Rights of Englishmen. This would go into detail what right every Englishman had, whether they lived in the colonies or England. Many colonist did not feel that their rights were taken into consideration, ultimately resulting in the revolution. Isaac Hunt was well known for the pamphlet The Political Family: or A discourse, pointing out the reciprocal advantages, which flow from an uninterrupted union between Great-Britain and her American colonies, which was shortened to The Political Family. Isaac wrote this pamphlet in 1766, but did not publish it until nine years later 1775. In this, Hunt would explain how there should be ““uninterrupted union between Great Britain and her American Colonies””(Leary 270). Described by Robert Shackleton in The Book of Philadelphia, this piece would get Hunt paraded around the town, beaten, almost tarred and feathered, and would lead to him fleeing Philadelphia to Jamaica, then finally to England with his wife. They would arrive in 1776 penniless and extremely weak. “His legal training was not recognized in England, and he had been obligated to find another profession. He toyed with the theatre, where his superb voice would have been an asset, but discarded this...
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...Abstract The Enlightenment era is made up of on rational thought, ideas and reason. Many men contributed to this, but a few amongst them are Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Their wisdom and ideas make up the Enlightenment era to which is the backbone of today’s society. The Enlightenment Starting in the mid 1700’s to 1800’s a movement had set in based on rational thought and reason, it was known as the Enlightenment era also known as the Age of Reason. This era created ideas that shaped the political, economic and social institutions in the United States. Men in this era such as Thomas Paine, who was a politician and philosopher, Thomas Jefferson our third president as well as an apostle of agrarian, and Benjamin Franklin, author, scientist, philosopher, and statesman. All these men emphasize the importance of using reason and logic instead of superstition or ignorance. They focus on creating and writing, science, politics and other subjects in this era which influence decades to come (Age of Enlightenment, 2011). In today’s society these ideas have become relevant. Thomas Paine influences the Enlightenment politically and socially, because of his beliefs he was damned by many people in both America and England. Thomas Paine was born in England; he was a corset maker and excise officer in England, although showed interested in philosophy and science. He later in life then met up with Benjamin Franklin in London and soon after he sailed to Philadelphia...
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...Human Rights: A Paine in My….Douglass? According to Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth-century northern slave, “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” Thomas Paine, a rebellious eighteenth-century Englishman, finishes and furthermore expands this thought, saying that “those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” While both of these men grew up in separate worlds, miles and years apart, their idealisms and life missions are very much alike. This is evident through the investigation of Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Frederick Douglass is the...
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