Panama University

West Panama Regional Center

Faculty of Humanities
English School

AMERICAN LITERATURE
ING 362

The Revolutionary Period

THOMAS PAINE – THE AGE OF THE REASON

By
Marisol De Sedas ID: 8-703-390
Kevin Espinosa ID: 8-862-595
Isabel Medina ID: 8-821-1681

Professor: Rosa Mena

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020.

 CHARACTERISTICS OF REVOLUTIONARY LITERATURE
Throughout the 18th century, writing moved from the Puritanism of Winthrop and
Bradford to Enlightenment ideas of reason. The faith that human and natural events
were words from God no longer agree with the growing anthropocentric culture. Several
academics believed that the human mind could understand the universe through the
laws of physics as Isaac Newton explained. The immense scientific, social, economic,
and philosophical, changes of the 18th century, called the Enlightenment, impacted the
influence of preacher and bible, giving way for democratic principles. The expansion in
society helped account for the bigger diversity of judgment in religious and political life
as seen in the literature of this time. The increase of communities and thence social life
led people to become more engaged in the progress of individuals and their shared
experience in the colonies.

We can name some characteristics of the Revolutionary Period

 The outbreak of smallpox, the deists and deism, the conflict between
science/reason and religion, establishing independence. Less about religion,
more about reason and logic.
 Revolutionary War, Independence from Britain, the discovery of electricity, came
up with a type of vaccine for smallpox, The Great Awakening, The Enlightening.
 American Revolutionist found an independent voice – separate from Europe.
 Centered around the “birth” of America.
 The style during the revolutionary period was rooted in reality (informational
texts), poetry is unoriginal (followed Britain).
 Rhetorical questions were used to get the audience thinking.
 The repetition was used to get their reasoning across to the audience.
 Allusions were used to apply the meaning to the audience that was already
familiar with.
 Logos was used to convince the audience that what they're saying is right and it
makes sense.
 Pathos was used to make the audience feel upset and want to make a change.
 Ethos was used to make the audience feel they are right and shows authority.

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 THEMES

The Revolutionary Period had four key themes: Political revolution, War and the
international order, Social and cultural revolution, and Economic and technological
revolution. Each theme is full of intriguing objects, artworks, documents even songs,
alongside fascinating facts and information.

Political revolution

From Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, and American Independence, to

revolutionary France and Marx and Engels, enduring ideas about equality, rights and
freedoms during the Age of Revolution, and some of their key proponents. Olaudah
Equiano and others who pushed societies to challenge and eventually abolish
transatlantic. The American and French revolutions both demonstrated the power of the
ordinary citizen and witnessed the birth of new republics, inspiring many others in their
wake.

The social and cultural revolution

It was an inclination for better working conditions, rights and representation for
ordinary people, the crusade against transatlantic slavery, the migration of people within
and beyond Britain, and the wave of artists, musicians, and authors who revealed the
period’s outbursts in works that still resonate and pleasure today.

The economic and technological revolution

It was related to Life-changing discoveries and innovations in scientific thinking,

technology, and medicine in the Age of Revolution, their influences on work and society,
and relationships with commerce and the economy.

War and the international order

The wars precipitated by the struggles for independence and attempts at empire-
building that characterize the Age of Revolution, and their impact on the changing world
map.

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 AUTHOR: THOMAS PAINE

Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737, Thetford, Norfolk, England, died
on June 8, 1809, New York, U.S.A. He was an influential 18th-century writer of essays
and pamphlets. Among them were "The Age of Reason," regarding the place of religion
in society; "Rights of Man," a piece defending the French Revolution; and "Common
Sense,” published during the American Revolution.

Thomas Paine met Benjamin Franklin in London, who advised him to seek his
fortune in America and gave him letters of introduction. Paine arrived in Philadelphia in
1774, started helping to edit the Pennsylvania Magazine in 1775. Paine wrote an article
condemning the African slave trade, called "African Slavery in America," which he
signed under the name "Justice and Humanity." After the battles of Lexington and
Concord in 1775, Paine argued that America should not simply revolt against taxation,
but demand independence from Great Britain entirely. He expanded this idea in a
pamphlet of 50 pages called "Common Sense,” printed on January 10, 1776.

His great contribution to the patriot cause was the 16 “Crisis” papers issued
between 1776 and 1783, each one signed Common Sense. “The American Crisis. The
number I,” published on December 19, 1776, this article moved George Washington,
who ordered all the troops in Valley Forge to read it. Its opening is among the most
stimulating readings in the literature of the American Revolution.

Paine was judged and found guilty of seditious libel and imprisoned from 1793 –
1794 in England, and the book “Rights of Man” was permanently banned, and the
publisher was jailed. While in prison, the first part of Paine’s Age of Reason was
published in 1794, Part II was released in 1796.

He returned to the U.S.A. in 1802 to the farm given to him by the state of New
York as a reward for his Revolutionary writings. On May 18, 1952, the New York
University placed Paine’s bust in the Hall of Fame.

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 THOMAS PAINE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HIS WORK

Thomas Paine is not an author that can be pigeonholed in a specific century,

because, although his work was born and developed in the 18th century, the advances
concepts that are not typical of the time in which he lives. In eighteenth-century political
philosophy, rights had come to occupy a very important role.

Paine was the right man at the right time, articulating the ideas that were in the
air, but only timidly perceived by most of his contemporaries, helping to promote the
revolution, changing the very terms through which people thought about politics and
society.

Paine's works-maintained principles such as social egalitarianism, a hostility to

monarchy and hereditary privilege, American nationalism along with an internationalist
vision of freedom, and confidence in the virtues of trade and economic development.

Social thought

In his work Common Sense, Thomas Paine directly appealed to the population in
a cheap and accessible way, which was understandable to the common man, and it
formed an ideological basis for the revolution. Also, he exposed his social thought in
Rights of Man and Agrarian Justice. In these works, his criticism was not of wealth itself
but rather of elites whose power was hereditary. The ideal society, according to Paine,
was small producers, artisans, and farmers as opposed to other social sectors that do
not produce anything by themselves.

Slavery

He wrote the pamphlet African Slavery in America, the first article proposing the
emancipation of African slaves and the abolition of slavery. It was published on March
8, 1775, in the apostille to the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser (also known
as The Pennsylvania Magazine and American Museum). In this work, his anti-slavery
position stated that slave owners were thieves and that the slave was the true owner of
his freedom.

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 THE AGE OF THE REASON

Thomas Paine was one of the most important figures of the American Revolution
because he provided much of the intellectual foundations. His problem is that he gained
an undeserved reputation as an atheist. His attacks on organized religion ruined his
reputation, giving people a false impression of who he was. Attacking political
institutions was one thing, religious institutions another. Ironically, his publication, The
Age of Reason, was intended to combat atheism, but it ended up being a form of
criticism of the specifically Christian religious proposition. In it, he presents the concept
of deism.

In the first part of this work, Thomas Paine mentions the use of meaning and
reason when contemplating religion. Furthermore, he mentions that there are many
ambiguities in the elements of the Christian religious proposition, he also rejects the fact
that the Bible is the God Word because there is not enough valid evidence that can
prove it. He believed in the existence of God as the creator of the universe, and he also
believes in the existence of religion that preaches the proposition that agrees with the
concept of deism. Therefore, this idea makes him a categorical religious agnostic.

We consider that in The Age of reason, the author shows his contempt for
religion, and it was not only limited to the Christian faith. Religion, in general, is a human
endeavor that Paine considered disgusting and primitive. Modern atheists find a
champion in his classical writings although, Paine believed in God he didn’t believe in a
religion.

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 OPINION SUPPORT

For the development of this investigative work, we chose Thomas Paine, without
having the slightest idea of who he was or what he represented at the historical level.
Perhaps many people do not agree with his thinking and how he idealized the society of
his time. Paine gave the necessary impetus to mobilize economically disadvantaged
citizens. But his theses, politically, did not succeed. Not for not being successful, but for
being ahead of their time. The Colonies at that time made up of very heterogeneous
social groups, many of them with interests opposed to what Paine's political ideas would
probably scare the bourgeoisie.

Today, some of his thoughts apply to our society these days, for example, he
believed that we don´t have to repair the government, and we can decide how we want
our government. Here he was talking about democracy and the right of voting. Another
of his positions was revolutionary politics, where he empowered the human being, and it
was free. Let's take the example of Cuba, its Government implemented communism,
and they want to make their followers believe that they can redistribute wealth and
income equitably when they can't. Great powers are renowned for leaving behind
outdated philosophy and policies.

Among the main aspects that caught our attention about this author are:

• Paine had an optimistic view of human nature, had faith in the ability of men to
act according to the dictates of reason, and could reject the idea of checks and
balances in forms of government, claiming pure democracy.

• He proposed the abolition of slavery almost one hundred years before Lincoln;
he was one of the first Englishmen to promote the independence of India; designed a
retirement plan, and claimed the rights of women.

Perhaps for this, he was condemned to darkness and exile. Like all idealists, he
made the mistake of underestimating the power of the ruling class. His thousands of

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followers were unable to protect his reputation against these attacks and persecutions.
However, his figure and thought remained for decades.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Web Sites

Cleveland HS U.S. History class notes (September 5, 2006). Revolutionary Era.

http://clevelandhs.org/ourpages/webdesign4/sackett/literature.html

Opinion history books. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree

History (October 23, 2019) Thomas Paine.

Founding Fathers. https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/thomas-paine

The American Crisis. (March 13, 2000).

HTTP:// libertyonline.hypetmall.com/Paine/Crisis/Crisis-TOC.html. Full text of Paine's
work from an unspecified edition.

Common Sense. (March 13, 2000). Archiving Early America.

hup://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/index.html.

Friends of Thomas Paine. (March 13, 2000) http://userweb.interactive.net/—phila/.

Historical Writings: Thomas Paine. (March 15, 2000) Positive Atheism.

http://www.aracnet.comkatheism/tochpain.htm. Includes links to full texts of a small
fraction of Paine's writings available on the web.

Thomas Paine. (March 15, 2000) World Union of Deists.

http://www.deism.corn/paine.htm.