Thomas Paine
(1737 - 1809)
Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737 (NS February 9, 1737) – June 8, 1809) was an English-American political activist, author, political theorist and revolutionary. As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment era rhetoric of transnational human rights. He has been called "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination." Born in Thetford, England, in the county of Norfolk, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 with the help of Benjamin Franklin and he arrived in time to participate in the American Revolution. His principal contributions were the powerful, widely read pamphlet Common Sense (1776), the all-time best-selling American book that advocated colonial America's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and The American Crisis (1776–83), a pro-revolutionary pamphlet series. Common Sense was so influential that John Adams said, "Without the pen of the author of Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain.”
The Age of Reason
Read in English by Joe D
Running Time:11:36:40 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a pamphlet, written by a British and American revolutionary Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason challenges institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of Christianity. Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival.
Part 1 was written sometime in 1793, and attacks the concepts of divine revelation and inspiration. He urged his readers to employ reason over revelation. Part 2 was written either during or shortly after his confinement in a French prison in 1794. In Part 2, Paine attacks the reliability of the Bible and points out numerous absurdities and contradictions. Part 3 was written in the United States sometime around 1800 but he delayed publication until 1807 for fears of violent backlash. Part 3 is an examination and rejection of the claims of prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Although these arguments were commonly known amongst the educated elite, Paine wrote in simple and irreverent prose that was easily accessible to a mass audience. Paine argued against religion as it is revealed in the Bible, but he argued just as strongly for a Deistic religion and a Creator of Reason.
The American Crisis aka "The Crisis"
Read in English by Michele Fry; Nigel Carington; Max Wainer;
Kirk Zigler; Ernst Schnell; Greg Giordano; Bruce Kachuk; JGHenry.
Running Time:08:19:14 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A 13 pamphlet series by 18th century Enlightenment philosopher/author Thomas Paine, published between 1776 to 1783 during and immediately following the American Revolution, gathered into one volume in 1882 by Moncure D. Conway. Each essay, plus 2 inserts, bolstered the morale of the American colonists to fight hard for their independence, appealed to the English to support the colonist's cause, clarified the issues at stake, and denounced any type of negotiated peace. Replete with quotable quotes, the first pamphlet, Crisis I, begins with the now-familiar words "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Paine, an Englishman living in the colonies, signed his pamphlets anonymously as "Common Sense."
00 - Editor's Preface
01 - Crisis I, These Are The Times That Try Men's Souls
02 - Crisis II, To Lord Howe
03 - Crisis III, Part I, In The Progress of Politics
04 - Crisis III, Part II, In The Progress of Politics
05 - Crisis IV, Those Who Expect To Reap The Blessings of Freedom
06 - Crisis V, Part I, To Gen. Sir William Howe
07 - Crisis V, Part II, To The Inhabitants Of America
08 - Crisis VI, To The Earl of Carlisle and Gen. Clinton
09 - Crisis VII, To The People of England
10 - Crisis VIII, Address To The People of England
11 - Crisis IX, Had America Pursued Her Advantages
12 - The Crisis Extraordinary on The Subject of Taxation
13 - Crisis X, On The King of England's Speech
14 - Crisis XI, On The Present State Of News
15 - A Supernumerary Crisis, To Guy Carlton
16 - Crisis XII, To The Earl of Shelburne
17 - Crisis XIII, Thoughts on The Peace, And Probable Advantages Thereof
18 - A Supernumerary Crisis: To The People of America
Common Sense
Read in English by Bob Neufeld
Running Time:2:25:29 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
Thomas Paine has a claim to the title The Father of the American Revolution because of Common Sense, the pro-independence monograph pamphlet he anonymously published on January 10, 1776; signed "Written by an Englishman", the pamphlet became an immediate success. It quickly spread among the literate, and, in three months, 100,000 copies (estimated 500,000 total including pirated editions sold during the course of the Revolution) sold throughout the American British colonies (with only two million free inhabitants), making it the best-selling book ever. Paine's original title for the pamphlet was Plain Truth; Paine's friend, pro-independence advocate Benjamin Rush, suggested Common Sense instead.
The pamphlet appeared in January 1776, after the Revolution had started. It was passed around, and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the idea of republicanism, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army. Paine provided a new and convincing argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history. Common Sense is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice. It offers a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.
01 - Introduction/Of The Origin And Design Of Government In General, With Concise Remarks On The English Constitution
02 - Of Monarchy And Hereditary Succession
03 - Thoughts On The Present State Of American Affairs
04 - Of The Present Ability Of America, With Some Miscellaneous Reflections
05 - Appendix
Rights Of Man
Read in English by Michele Fry; Edward Kirkby
Running Time:09:36:21 in 1 MP3 Audio CD
A book in 2 Parts, published in 1791 and 1792. Part First denounces Edmund Burke’s defense of monarchy and his attacks against the French Revolution, and in plain layman’s language traces the birth and fallacy of monarchy, and the source of man's inalienable rights. Part Second examines the roots and benefits of constitutional government. Written with Paine's dry wit and hard hitting logic, in layman's language, the book was widely circulated in Europe and America. Considered the earliest complete statement of republican principles, Paine opposes the idea of hereditary kings and speaks against the belief in dictatorial government as necessary to a well-managed society. Paine's visionary call for republicanism and social welfare was generations ahead of its time, and landed him in prison and narrowly escaping the guillotine!
00 - Editor's Introduction
01 - Dedication
02 - Paine's Preface To The English Edition
03 - Paine's Preface To The French Edition
04 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 1 of 13
05 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 2 of 13
06 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 3 of 13
07 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 4 of 13
08 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 5 of 13
09 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 6 of 13
10 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 7 of 13
11 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 8 of 13
12 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 9 of 13
13 - Part The First, Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 10 of 13
14 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 11 of 13
15 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 12 of 13
16 - Part The First, Being An Answer To Mr. Burke's Attack on the French Revolution, Part 13 of 13
17 - Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Of Citizens
18 - Observations On The Declaration Of Rights
19 - Miscellaneous Chapter, Part 1 of 3
20 - Miscellaneous Chapter, Part 2 of 3
21 - Miscellaneous Chapter, Part 3 of 3
22 - Conclusion (of Part The First)
23 - Part Second, Introduction
24 - Part Second, Chapter 1, Of Society And Civilization
25 - Part Second, Chapter 2, Of The Origin Of The Present Old Governments
26 - Part Second, Chapter 3, Of The Old And New Systems Of Government
27 - Part Second, Chapter 4, On Constitutions, Part 1 of 2
28 - Part Second, Chapter 4, Part 2 of 2
29 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 1 of 7
30 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 2 of 7
31 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 3 of 7
32 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 4 of 7
33 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 5 of 7
34 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 6 of 7
35 - Part Second, Chapter 5, Ways And Means Of Improving The Condition Of Europe, Part 7 of 7