Thomas Paine published Common Sense In 1776, a time when America was a hotbed of revolution. The pamphlet, which called for America's political freedom from England, sold more than 150,000 copies in three months. Paine not only spurred his fellow Americans to action but he soon came to symbolize the spirit of the Revolution itself. His persuasive pieces, written so elegantly, spoke to the hearts and minds of all those fighting for freedom from England.
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Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was a pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, liberal, intellectual, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in Great Britain, he emigrated to America at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin just in time to promote the American Revolution with his powerful, widely read pamphlet, Common Sense. Later, he was a great influence on the French Revolution. He wrote Rights of Man as a guide to the ideas of the Enlightenment. Despite an inability to speak French, he was elected to the French National Assembly in 1792. Regarded as an ally of the Girondists, he was seen with increasing disfavor by the Montagnards and in particular by Robespierre. He was arrested in Paris and imprisoned in December 1793; he was released in 1794. He became notorious with his book, The Age of Reason, which advocated deism and took issue with Christian doctrines. While in France, he also wrote a pamphlet titled Agrarian Justice, which discussed the origins of property and introduced a concept that is similar to a guaranteed minimum income. He remained in France until 1802, when he returned to America on an invitation from Thomas Jefferson, who had been elected president.
Walter Dixon is a broadcast media veteran of more than twenty years’ experience with a background in theater and performing arts and voice work for commercials. After a career in public radio, he is now a full-time narrator with more than fifty audiobooks recorded in genres ranging from religion and politics to children’s stories.