Thomas Paine wrote political pamphlets and essays that became central to revolutionary and republican debate in the late eighteenth century. Common Sense argued for American independence from Britain in direct language aimed at a broad public audience. The American Crisis series supported the revolutionary cause during war, while Rights of Man defended the French Revolution and attacked hereditary monarchy and aristocratic privilege. The Age of Reason turned towards religion, criticising organised churches and arguing for deism. Paine's prose is polemical, accessible and designed to persuade rather than neutrally survey competing positions. Common Sense is the clearest entry for American revolutionary thought, while Rights of Man offers a broader argument about political legitimacy and The Age of Reason shows his controversial religious views. Read more Less
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