Tag Archives: american-revolution

Thomas Paine, Working-Class Hero

Future Hope, , , ,

“In ‘Common Sense,’ Thomas Paine defines common sense as the fundamental ability of all people to reason and discern truth, regardless of social standing or education. He argues that this innate capacity, when applied to political matters, reveals the absurdity of hereditary monarchy and the necessity of self-governance based on the consent of the governed. Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ is a call to action, urging colonists to reject British rule and embrace republicanism, a system of government where power resides in the people.”      AI Overview 

Labor Day is almost here, and demonstrations against Trumpfascism and in support of the right to organize and join unions and collective bargaining are taking place all over the country. Given the reactionary attacks on workers and unions by the Trump regime, it would be fitting to remember at this time one of the heroes of the USA anti-colonial revolution that began 250 years ago: Thomas Paine.

Tom Paine, more than any other leader of that revolution, was a working-class hero. Unlike many of the other leading figures of that time, he wasn’t a landowner or a slaveholder or a man of wealth. Indeed, he was openly against slavery, and for much of  his life he struggled to make a decent income.

Paine’s primary occupation was as a writer. He is most well known for the writing of the short but popularly written, powerful book, “Common Sense,” in 1776, a book which inspired broadly-based support for the revolutionary cause at a time when it was badly needed.

But he was a very special kind of writer. He deliberately joined the Continental Army in Valley Forge, Pa. in the brutal winter of 1777-78 at a time when the odds against that army winning were very long. He did so to help keep up the army’s morale and, from that vantage point, wrote a series of essays published and widely distributed as The American Crisis. In the very first issue he wrote this stirring passage, still appropriate today:

 “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 by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

What was Paine’s specific vision for human society? Long after the successful defeat of British colonialism in “the colonies,” he wrote this passage in “Rights of Man, Part the Second”: “When it shall be said in any country in the world that my poor are happy, neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars, the aged are not in want; the taxes are not oppressive; the rational world is my friend, because I am the friend of its happiness—when these things can be said, then may that country boast its constitution and its government.”

One of the most comprehensive and well written books about Paine is a book, ‘Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution and the Birth of Modern Nations,’ by Craig Nelson, published in 2006. It explains Paine’s life within the times in which he lived, “enlightenment” times which had and continue to have very real impacts. He concludes the book with words that are almost painfully relevant to our situation in the USA in the year 2025:

“Anyone needing to be reminded of core Enlightenment beliefs—that government can only be empowered by its citizens; that such citizens are born with certain natural rights; that none are born superior to any other; that all will be treated equally before the law; and that the state has a duty to help the neediest of its people—reading Paine offers a political and spiritual inspiration, one that has driven men and women to achieve greatness across history. Of Paine’s many reasons for daring to publish work for which he could have been hanged or guillotined in the United Colonies, the United Kingdom, or France, this legacy is his glory.”

The US resistance movement fighting the Trump regime’s effort to destroy everything Thomas Paine stood for and fought for, and more, will be stronger if we raise him up more and more over the coming months as we approach the 250th anniversary on July 4th next year of the issuing of the Declaration of Independence. There’s no question which side he would be on if he was alive today.

Ted Glick has been a progressive activist and organizer since 1968. He is the author of the recently published books, Burglar for Peace and 21st Century Revolution, both available at https://pmpress.org . More info can be found at https://tedglick.com.

Tom Paine, Revolutionist

Future Hope, , , ,

The Future Hope column below was published on July 5, 2020. It is essentially a review of the book, “Citizen Tom Paine,” by Howard Fast. I am posting it again five years later on the day after the over 800 “No Kings!” actions around the country, the latest in a wave of 50-state protests against the Trumpfascists that began on February 5th.

Yesterday was the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the US American Revolution at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. The success of that revolution against King George III and British colonialism inspired successful progressive uprisings into the 1820’s in France, Haiti, South America and elsewhere. Indeed, when the Vietnamese national liberation movement declared their independence from France on September 2, 1945, they directly quoted the US Declaration of Independence: “All people are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The American Revolution against tyranny and oppression lives!


“There is nothing more common than to confound the terms of  the American Revolution with those of the late American war. The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed.”   1787, Benjamin Rush
-the beginning of the book, Citizen Tom Paine, by Howard Fast

On this 4th of July weekend the name of Tom Paine, as usual, is rarely heard in official government celebrations. Yet without Tom Paine, it is likely that the war of independence against British colonialism that forged what became the United States of America never would have succeeded. That is how important this poor, struggling, working-class Englishman was to the revolutionary cause. This was a person who made a difference.

It is also rare, from my experience, that the name Tom Paine is voiced among those in 21st century USA who see themselves as revolutionaries or on the political Left. I understand why this is the case, but I think there are very good reasons why we should be raising up his name as we continue to build our growing 21st century, revolutionary movement demanding that all Black Lives Matter, for a Green New Deal, for Medicare for All, for equity and equality for women, all people of color and lgbtq people, for “liberty and justice for all.”

Howard Fast’s book is not a biography of Paine; it’s a work of historical fiction. But it presents the truth about the man, from his very real personal weaknesses and worts to his brilliance as a writer, speaker and organizer, his commitment to the causes of overthrowing tyranny, ending slavery, “a way for children to smile, some freedom, some liberty, and hope for the future, men with rights, decent courts, decent laws, men not afraid of poverty and women not afraid of childbirth.” (p. 77)

Paine saw himself as a revolutionist. This was his life’s work. In a fictional exchange with fellow revolutionist and doctor Benjamin Rush, in a discussion about revolution, Rush articulates what was historically new about what was happening in the American colonies in the 1770’s: “The strength of many is revolution, but curiously enough mankind has gone through several thousand years of slavery without realizing that fact. But here we have a nation of armed men who know how to use their arms; we have a Protestant tradition of discussion as opposed to autocracy; we have some notion of the dignity of man [mainly white men]. . . but now we must learn technique, we must learn it well. . .Six months ago you were rolled in the dirt [assaulted] because people knew what you were writing; two weeks ago a man in New York was almost tarred and feathered because he planned to publish an answer to [Paine’s] Common Sense. That’s not morality; that’s strength, the same kind of strength the tyrants used, only a thousand times more powerful. Now we must learn how to use that strength, how to control it. We need leaders, a program, a purpose, but above all we need revolutionists.” (pps. 116-117)

Paine was a particular kind of writer, one who was immersed in the cause of independence, on the front lines of deadly battles, spending time in the bitter winter encampments of the nascent continental army, organizing, encouraging men to stick with it, inspiring them and pointing out how important what they were doing was. “This was all Paine had ever thought of or dreamed of, the common men of the world marching together, shoulder to shoulder, guns in their hands, love in their hearts.” (p. 124)

Fast paints a picture of Paine writing the first issue of The Crisis, a newspaper published during the war to present facts and strengthen morale: “The men gathered around him. They read as he wrote: ‘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. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. . . If there be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. . . Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and repulse it.” (p. 145)

That’s a good last line, relevant for us right now in the summer of 2020. Let the city and the country come forth to meet and repulse our common danger, this decade’s King George III, and, after his defeat this November, the unjust, destructive system which spawned him. It’s just common sense.

Ted Glick has been a progressive activist and organizer since 1968. He is the author of the recently published books, Burglar for Peace and 21st Century Revolution, both available at https://pmpress.org . More info can be found at https://tedglick.com.

Tom Paine and Presidents’ Day

Future Hope, , , ,

The organizers of the pro-democracy actions last week on February 5, all around the country in all 50 states, have issued a call for actions this coming Monday, February 17, President’s Day. This day is mainly about remembering the USA’s first President, George Washington, as well as Abraham Lincoln. Washington was a slaveholder; Lincoln, of course, defeated, temporarily, the system of African enslavement in the South.

By coincidence this morning I was reminded about one of the original American revolutionaries who fought with Washington for independence from England, Tom Paine. It might be of value for those organizing the Monday actions to reference what he had to say in his book, Common Sense, about kings, or Presidents who act like kings:

“Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are early poisoned by importance; and the world they act in differs so materially from the world at large that they have but little opportunity of knowing its true interests, and when they succeed to the government are frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any.”  p. 15, Dover Thrift Editions

Washington was a supporter of slavery. He also took part in wars against Indigenous nations to take their land for the benefit of European settlers, as did Lincoln in the 1830’s. Paine, in contrast, evolved into an abolitionist and came to appreciate Indigenous nations for their organic connections to the natural world and democratic decision-making processes. All personified this contradiction at the heart of the United States: a very imperfect union, at birth, but one which, over time, with Lincoln playing an important role as far as African enslavement, rejected much of that racist past and began the expansion of democratic rights and freedoms which have continued up until the 21st century.

Trump and MAGA want to role back as many of those rights as they can.

It is rare, from my experience, that the name Tom Paine is voiced among those in 21st century USA who see themselves as progressives or revolutionaries. I understand why this is the case, but I think there are very good reasons why we should be raising up his name as we continue to build our growing 21st century movement of movements for racial, gender, social and environmental justice, for a Green New Deal for low-income and working class people, for Medicare for All, for equity and equality for women, all people of color and lgbtq+ people, for “liberty and justice for all.”

“Citizen Tom Paine” is a book about Paine by Howard Fast published 70 years ago. It’s not a biography of Paine; it’s a work of historical fiction. But it presents much of the truth about the man, from his very real personal weaknesses and worts to his brilliance as a writer, speaker and organizer, his commitment to the cause of overthrowing British tyranny, “a way for children to smile, some freedom, some liberty, and hope for the future, men with rights, decent courts, decent laws, men not afraid of poverty and women not afraid of childbirth.” (p. 77)

Paine saw himself as a revolutionist. This was his life’s work. In a fictional exchange with fellow revolutionist and doctor Benjamin Rush, in a discussion about revolution, Rush articulates what was historically new about what was happening in the American colonies in the 1770’s: “The strength of many is revolution, but curiously enough mankind has gone through several thousand years of slavery without realizing that fact. But here we have a nation of armed men who know how to use their arms; we have a Protestant tradition of discussion as opposed to autocracy; we have some notion of the dignity of man [mainly white men]. . . but now we must learn technique, we must learn it well. . .Six months ago you were rolled in the dirt [assaulted] because people knew what you were writing; two weeks ago a man in New York was almost tarred and feathered because he planned to publish an answer to [Paine’s] Common Sense. That’s not morality; that’s strength, the same kind of strength the tyrants used, only a thousand times more powerful. Now we must learn how to use that strength, how to control it. We need leaders, a program, a purpose, but above all we need revolutionists.” (pps. 116-117)

Paine was a particular kind of writer, one who was immersed in the cause of independence, on the front lines of deadly battles, spending time in the bitter winter encampments of the nascent continental army, organizing, encouraging men to stick with it, inspiring them and pointing out how important what they were doing was. “This was all Paine had ever thought of or dreamed of, the common men of the world marching together, shoulder to shoulder, guns in their hands, love in their hearts.” (p. 124)

Fast paints a picture of Paine writing the first issue of The Crisis, a newspaper published by him during the war to present facts and strengthen morale: “The men gathered around him. They read as he wrote: ‘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. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. . . If there be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. . . Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and repulse it.” (p. 145)

That’s a good last line, relevant for us right now 250 years later in the winter of 2025. Let the city and the country come forth to meet and repulse our common danger, this decade’s King George III and the reactionary MAGA movement under him. It’s just common sense.

 Ted Glick has been a progressive activist and organizer since 1968. He is the author of the recently published books, Burglar for Peace and 21st Century Revolution, both available at https://pmpress.org . More info can be found at https://tedglick.com.