Ep. 261: Thomas Paine's rise and fall

Thomas Paine arrived in America in 1774 with little to his name and a long record of personal failure behind him. Within a year, he wrote Common Sense, one of the most influential political pamphlets in history, helping to ignite the American Revolution and catapulting Paine into the American history hall of fame. But by the end of his life, he was widely reviled, politically isolated, and personally abandoned. Once celebrated as the voice of liberty, he died an outcast, mourned by only six people at his funeral. How does one man become the voice of the American Revolution and end up forgotten? To explore Paine's complicated legacy, we are joined by Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland and author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World. Timestamps:  00:00 Intro   02:41 Thomas Paine's early life 10:32 Paine's arrival in America 20:02 What did Paine argue in Common Sense? 25:11 Why Common Sense was so revolutionary 36:31 The American Crisis and the Revolutionary War 41:35 Why Paine returned to London and wrote The Rights of Man 49:19 Exile from Britain, imprisonment in France, and writing The Age of Reason 01:01:27 Why America turned its back on Paine 01:12:09 Paine's final days 01:18:50 How should we understand Paine's legacy today? 01:26:58 Outro Read the transcript here.  Enjoy listening to the podcast? Donate to FIRE today and get exclusive content like member webinars, special episodes, and more.  If you became a FIRE Member through a donation to FIRE at thefire.org and would like access to Substack's paid subscriber podcast feed, please email [email protected].