Chapter C: W. A. Veditz, LL.B.: "The work of Paine became the text book of the (1)

new era."

Sydney G. Fisher: "Its phrases became household words on the lips of every man in the patriot party."

Henry W. Edson: "Its concise, simple and unanswerable style won thousands to the cause."

Edward Channing: "It was read and debated in smithy and shop and converted thousands."

Henry Eldridge Bourne and Elbert Jay Benton: "Much that Paine wrote was so simple, so convincing, such 'common sense,' that thousands read it and concluded that separation was necessary."

William Cullen Bryant and Sydney Howard Gay: "Everybody read it and nearly everybody was influenced by it."

Pennsylvania Evening Post (March 17, 1776): "'Common Sense' hath made independents of the majority of the country."

Almon's Remembrancer (1776): "'Common Sense' is read by all ranks; and as many as read, so many become converted."

"'Common Sense' has converted thousands to Independence who could not endure the idea before."

(Where two or more paragraphs of testimony follow the name of a witness, all of the testimony cited, unless otherwise credited, belongs to the witness named.)

William Robinson (to Nathan Hafle, Feb. 17, 1776): "Upon my word, it is well done.... I confess a perusal of it has much reformed my notions."

Joseph Hawley (to Elbridge Gerry, Feb. 18, 1776): "I have read the pamphlet entitled 'Common Sense, Addressed to the Inhabitants of America.' and every sentiment has sunk into my well-prepared heart."

"By private letters which I have lately received from Virginia, I find that 'Common Sense' is working a powerful change there in the minds of many men."--_George Washington_.

Rev. John Drayton: "Colonel Gadsden (having brought the first copy of Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense') boldly declared himself [in the Provincial Congress at Charleston, Feb. 10, 1776] for the absolute Independence of America. This last sentiment came like an explosion of thunder on the members."

Bitterly as the Colonists opposed the tyranny of the English Government there were no manifestations of disloyalty. If they harbored the thought of separation and independence no tongue or pen had dared to give expression to it. Referring to this period Hon. Alexander H. Stephens says: "Neither did Livingston, nor Washington, nor any of the prominent leaders in the cause of the Colonists at that time look to anything but a redress of grievances. None were looking to a final separation and Independence."

"When I first took command of the army," says Washington, "I abhorred the idea of Independence." When admonished that continued resistance to the crown might lead to separation, he replied: "If you ever hear of me joining in any such measures you have my leave to set me down for everything wicked." While Paine was writing his "Common Sense," Jefferson, the reputed author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote that he was "looking with fondness toward a reconciliation with Great Britain." But a little while before Franklin had assured Lord Chatham that "he had never heard in America an expression in favor of Independence."

Virginia, the province of Washington and Jefferson, declared in favor of "a redress of grievances, and not a revolution of government." In November, 1775, the Assembly of Pennsylvania, Franklin's province, elected a delegation to the Continental Congress with these instructions: "Though the British Parliament and administration have compelled us to resist their violence by force of arms, yet we strictly enjoin that you dissent from and utterly reject any proposition, should such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from the mother country."

"Among them all not one had been stirred by that splendid dream of a new nation, a nation independent and free. There was but one mind and only one that had grasped the great plan. There was one voice crying in the wilderness. There was one herald of the dawn, one that did not hesitate in that night of hesitancy and reluctancy."--_Dr. J. E. Roberts_.

Dr. David Ramsay, a prominent leader in the Continental Congress and a popular historian of the Revolution, describing the effects of "Common Sense," says: "Though that measure [Separation] a few months before was not only foreign to their wishes, but the object of their abhorrence, the current suddenly became so strong in its favor that it bore down all before it."

Prof. Moses Coit Tyler: "In one sentiment all persons, Tories and Whigs, seemed perfectly to agree, viz., in abhorrence of the project of separation from the Empire. Suddenly, however, and within a period of less than six months [chiefly as a result of Paine's pamphlet] the majority of the Whigs turned completely around, and openly declared for Independence."

"Thomas Paine brought to the study of the American Revolution a mind... quick to see into things, and marvelous in its power of stating them with lucidity, with liveliness and with incisive force."

It is generally supposed that the writing of "Common Sense" with its advocacy of separation and independence was suggested by Franklin. It was not; Franklin knew nothing of its existence prior to its publication. What he suggested was a history of Colonial affairs which he believed would convince the world that the grievances of the Colonists against the mother country were just. Paine's own account of the origin of this work is as follows:

"In October, 1775, Dr. Franklin proposed giving me such materials as were in his hands towards completing a history of the present transactions, and seemed desirous of having the first volume out the next spring.. I had then formed the outlines of 'Common Sense,' and finished nearly the first part; and as I supposed the doctor's design in getting out a history was to open the new year with a new system, I expected to surprise him with a production on that subject much earlier than he thought of; and without informing him of what I was doing, got it ready for the press as fast as I conveniently could, and sent him the first pamphlet that was printed off."

Regarding the originality of his revolutionary ideas, "Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography" says: "Beyond doubt Washington, Franklin, and all other prominent men of the Revolutionary period gave Paine the sole credit for everything that came from his pen."

Washington, Franklin and Jefferson were among Paine's earliest converts. Franklin gave his book his immediate approval, and Jefferson's endorsement soon followed. Washington, writing to Joseph Reed in the same month that it was published, acknowledged its "sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning," and declared for separation.

"Jefferson, Washington and Franklin, who up to that time [publication of 'Common Sense'] had denounced even the thought of Independence,... all changed front, and soon, not a majority, but the effective part of the people, followed."--_T. B. Wakeman_.

"Washington, now converted, wrote to his friends in praise of 'Common Sense'... Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin, Madison, all the great statesmen of the time, wrote praisefully of Paine's 'flaming arguments.'"--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_.

"Leaders in the New York Provincial Congress considered the advisability of answering it but came to the conclusion that it was unanswerable."--_Encyclopedia Britannica._

An Unknown Writer of Charleston, S. C. (Feb. 14, 1776): "Who is the author of 'Common Sense'? I can hardly refrain from adoring him. He deserves a statue of gold."

Abigail Adams: "I am charmed with the sentiments of 'Common Sense,' and wonder how an honest heart, one who wishes the welfare of his country and the happiness of posterity, can hesitate one moment at adopting them."

"'Common Sense,' like a ray of revelation, has come in season to clear our doubts and fix our choice."

John Winthrop: "If Congress should adopt its sentiments it would satisfy the people."

"The public mind was now fully educated to accept the doctrine of Independence.... Thomas Paine's celebrated pamphlet 'Common Sense' had sapped the foundation of any remaining loyalty to the British Crown."--_John Clark Ridpath, LL. D_.

Prof. Alexander Johnston: "Thomas Paine turned the scale by the publication of his pamphlet 'Common Sense'."

Richard Frothingham: "The great question which it treated was now discussed at every fireside; and the favorite toast at every dinner table was; 'May the independent principles of 'Common Sense' be confirmed throughout the United Colonies.'"

Henry Clay Watson: "'Common Sense' effected a complete revolution in the feelings and sentiments of the great mass of the people."

Rev. Jedediah Morse. "The change of the public mind on this occasion is without a parallel."

Dr. Benjamin Rush: "'Common Sense' burst from the press with an effect which has rarely been produced by types and paper in any age or country."

Hon. Salma Hale: "The effect of the pamphlet in making converts was astonishing, and is probably without precedent in the annals of literature."

James Cheetham (Paine's basest calumniator): "Speaking a language which the colonists had felt but not thought, its popularity, terrible in its consequences to the parent country, was unexampled in the history of the press."

General Charles Lee: "Have you [Washington] seen the pamphlet 'Common Sense'? I never saw such a masterly irresistible performance."

"He burst forth on the world like Jove in thunder."

Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History: "Its trumpet tones awakened the continent, and made every patriot's heart beat with intense emotion."

J. Dorman Steele, Ph. D.: "Every line glowed with the spirit of liberty, and men's hearts were thrilled as they read."

Larned's Ready Reference History: "A more effective popular appeal never went to the bosoms of a nation.... Its effect was instantaneous and tremendous."

Henry Cabot Lodge: "The pamphlet marked an epoch, was a very memorable production; from the time of its publication the tide flowing in the direction of independence began to race with devouring swiftness to high water mark."

Encyclopedia Britannica (10th Ed.)--"There is a complete concurrence of testimony that Paine's pamphlet issued on the first of January, 1776, was a turning point in the struggle, that it roused and consolidated public feeling, and swept waverers along with the tide."

Prof. Goldwin Smith: "Colonial resolution had been screwed to the sticking point by Tom Paine, the stormy petrel of three countries, with his pamphlet 'Common Sense.'"

Dr. E. Benjamin Andrews: "Most potent of all as a cause of the resolution to separate was Thomas Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense'."

"No writing ever more instantly swung men to its humor."--_Woodrow Wilson_.

Mary L. Booth: "This eloquent production severed the last link that bound the Colonies to the mother country."

Mary Howitt: "The cause of Independence took as it were a definite form from this moment."

Guilliam Tell Poussin: "It rendered the sentiment of Independence national."

"The notion of a new State, wholly free from Great Britain, first found full and convincing expression in Paine's 'Common Sense'."--_London Times_.

Gen. William A. Stokes: "When 'Common Sense' was published a great blow was struck. It was felt from New England to the Carolinas; it resounded throughout the world."

The sympathy and assistance of liberty-loving Europeans contributed much to the success of the Revolution, and this was due largely to the influence of Paine's "Common Sense," which was printed in nearly every tongue and read in nearly every country of Continental Europe. Even in England thousands of copies were circulated, and the American party, the party of Chatham, Fox and Burke, was greatly strengthened, while the influence of the king and his ministry was correspondingly weakened by the effect of its masterly arguments.

Lord Erskine: "In that great and calamitous conflict, Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine fought in the same field together, but with very different success. Mr. Burke spoke to a Parliament in England, such as Sir George Saville describes it, having no ears but for sounds that flattered its corruptions. Mr. Paine, on the other hand, spoke to the people, reasoned with them, told them they were bound by no subjection to any sovereignty further than their own benefit connected them, and, by these powerful arguments, prepared the minds of the American people for that glorious, just, and happy Revolution."

Marquis de Chastelleaux: "Since my arrival in America I had not yet seen Mr. Paine, that author so celebrated in America and throughout Europe by his excellent work entitled 'Common Sense.' Lafayette and myself had asked the permission of an interview, and we waited on him accordingly with Col. Laurens.... His patriotism and his talents are unquestionable."

W. E. H. Lecky: "Paine's 'Common Sense'... was translated into French, and was, if possible, even more popular in France than in America."

"The work ran through innumerable editions in America and France. The world rang with it."--_Hon. Henry S. Randall_.

Silas DeAne: "'Common Sense' has been translated, and has had a greater run here [in France] than in America. A person of distinction, writing to his noble friend in office, has these words: 'I think, with you, my dear Count, that "Common Sense" is an excellent work, and that its author is one of the greatest legislators among the million writers that we know.'"

Sir George Trevelyan: "It would be difficult to name any human composition which has had an effect at once so instant, so extended, and so lasting. It flew through numberless editions. It was pirated, and parodied, and imitated, and translated into the language of every country where the new Republic had well-wishers, and could hope to procure allies.... It was reprinted in all the Colonies with a frequency surprising at a time when Colonial printing houses were very few. Three months from its first appearance, a hundred and twenty thousand copies had been sold in America alone; and, before the demand ceased, it was calculated that half a million had seen the light."

"Paine saw beyond precedents and statutes, and constitutional facts or fictions, into the depths of human nature; and he knew that, if men are to fight to the death, it must be for reasons which all can understand."

John Adams: "'Common Sense' was received in France and in all Europe with rapture."

"History is to ascribe the Revolution to Thomas Paine." (Letter to Thomas Jefferson).

John Quincy Adams: "Paine's 'Common Sense' crystalized public opinion and was the first factor in bringing about the Revolution."

Samuel Adams: "Your 'Common Sense'... unquestionably awakened the public mind, and led the people loudly to call for a Declaration of our National Independence."

Parker Pillsbury: "Without his 'Common Sense,' written in 1775, we should not have had the Declaration of Independence in 1776."

Samuel Bryan: "This book, 'Common Sense,' may be called the Book of Genesis, for it was the beginning. From this book spread the Declaration of Independence, that not only laid the foundation of liberty in our own country, but the good of mankind throughout the world."

"The open movement to Independence dates from its publication."--_Encyclopedia Britannica_ (11th Ed.)

Elkanah Watson (one of Paine's calumniators): "It everywhere flashed conviction, and aroused a determined spirit which resulted in the Declaration of Independence."

Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL. D.: "This spark was sufficient to rouse the Americans, who at once signed the Declaration of Independence."

William Howitt: "It at once seized on the imagination of the public, cast all other writers into the shades and flew in thousands and tens of thousands all over the Colonies.... The common fire blazed up in Congress, and the thing was done."

"He became the great oracle on the subject of governments and constitutions."

Thomas Gaspey: "He was treated with great consideration by the members of the Revolutionary government, who took no steps of importance without consulting him."

Grand Dictionary Universel: "He became the political catechism of the movement."

Dictionary of National Biography (America): "Joined the Provincial army in the autumn [1776] and became a volunteer aid-de-camp to General Nathaniel Greene, animating the troops by his writings [the 'Crisis']."

"The pamphlets that stirred like a trumpet call the flagging energies of a desponding people."--_Rev. John Snyder_.

"General Greene made him one of his aides-de-camp; but an appointment on that staff, during those weeks, carried with it very little, either of privilege or luxury. In the flight from Fort Lee Paine lost his baggage and his private papers; but he had kept or borrowed a pen. He began to write at Newark, the first stage in the calamitous retreat; and he worked all night at every halting place until his new pamphlet was completed. It was published in Philadelphia on the 19th of December, under the title of 'The Crisis,' and at once flew like wildfire through all the towns and villages of the Confederacy."--_Sir George Trevelyan_.

This, the first number of the "Crisis," opens with these words: "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 his country; but he that stands 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."

Samuel Eliot: "His later pamphlets, issued during the war under the name of the 'Crisis,' were of equal power [to 'Common Sense']."

Encyclopedia of Social Reform: "The 'Crisis' exerted wide influence for Independence and Republicanism."

Albert Bushnell Hart, LL.D.: "The 'Crisis' [sixteen numbers], written by Paine between 1776 and 1783, exercised an enormous influence over men and events during the Revolution."

Albert Payson Terhune: "He plunged, heart and soul, into the struggle for freedom. His 'Common Sense' and other pamphlets [the 'Crisis'] were such strong and eloquent pleas for liberty that Washington ordered some of them read aloud to the patriot armies."

National Cyclopedia of American Biography: "Its [the 'Crisis'] initial number was, by the order of General Washington, read aloud to each regiment and to each detachment."

William S. Stryker: "The effect of its strong patriotic sentences was apparent upon the spirits of the army."

George T. Cram: "The whole patriot army was inspirited by it."

Werner's Encyclopedia (Ed. 1899): "Its opening words, 'These are the times that try men's souls,' became a battle cry."

Norman Hapgood, LL.B.: "The last sentence [of the first 'Crisis'] sounds like a prophecy and the first sentence, 'These are the times that try men's souls,' was the watchword [at the battle of Trenton]."

George Lippard: "In the full prime of early manhood, he joins the army of the Revolution; he shares the crust and the cold with Washington and his men; he is with those brave soldiers on the toilsome march, with them by the camp fire, with them in the hour of battle.

"Is the day dark? Has the battle been bloody? Do the American soldiers despair? Hark! that printing press yonder, which moves with the American camp in all its wanderings, is scattering pamphlets through the ranks of the army--pamphlets written by the author-soldier; written sometimes on the head of a drum, or by the midnight fire, or amid the corpses of the dead."

"Such words as these stirred up the starved Continentals to the attack on Trenton, and there in the dawn of that glorious morning, George Washington, standing sword in hand over the dead body of the Hessian Rhol, confessed the magic influence of the author-hero's pen."

"Under that cloud, by Washington's side, was silently at work the force that lifted it. Marching by day, listening to the consultations of Washington and his generals, Paine wrote by the camp fires; the winter storms, the Delaware waves, were mingled with his ink; the half-naked soldiers in their troubled sleep dreaming of their distant homes, the skulking deserter creeping off in the dusk, the pallid face of the heavy-hearted commander, made the awful shadows beneath which was written that leaflet."--_Dr. Conway_.

Of this work Sir George Trevelyan writes: "The 'Crisis' was an impassioned appeal to arms. That circumstance endowed Paine's glowing rhetoric with a special value in the estimation of Americans. To their mind's eye the little work was adorned by an imaginary frontispiece of a soldier, writing by the watch-fire's light, with his comrades slumbering round him; and it was among those comrades that the author found his warmest admirers and his most convinced disciples."

"These words were fire and warmed the soldiers; they were meat and drink for the famishing; they were clothes for the naked. The soldiers were filled with a courage new and unknown. The battle of Trenton came, and as the soldiers entered that conflict, all down the ranks rang the battle cry, 'These are the times that try men's souls.' The battle was fought and won. The army of the patriots had entered upon a new career. And thus he wrote and wrought to the end of the immortal struggle."--_Dr. John E. Roberts_.

"In the midnight of Valley Forge the 'Crisis' was the only star that glittered in the broad horizon of despair."--_Col. Ingersoll_.

"Paine was the real founder of our Republic. Without his 'Common Sense' the independence of the American Colonies never would have been declared; without his 'Crisis' it never could have been won. Without his services this country, like Canada, India, Australia and South Africa, today would be a part of the British Empire.

"We would undoubtedly be under British rule today but for the wise and wonderful efforts of Thomas Paine.''--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_.

"Paine's title as the discoverer and inventor of the United States is just as plain as Watt's invention of the steam engine, and everything that has taken place as a result of organizing the United States of America is the result of Thomas Paine's labors."--_Rev. Thomas R. Slicer, D.D_.

Timothy Matlack (Oct. 10, 1777): "The Honorable House of Assembly has proposed and Council has adopted a plan of obtaining more regular and constant intelligence of the proceedings of General Washington's army than has hitherto been had. Every one agrees that you [Paine] are the proper person for the purpose, and I am directed by his Excellency, the President, to write to you.... Proper expresses will be engaged in this business. If the expresses which pass from headquarters to Congress can be made use of so much the better,--of this you must be the judge."

Col. Asa Bird Gardener, LL.D.: "The entire British fleet was then brought up opposite Fort Mifflin, and the most furious cannonade and most desperate but finally unsuccessful defense of the place was made. The entire works were demolished, and the most of the garrison killed and wounded. Major General Greene being anxious for the garrison and desirous of knowing its ability to resist sent Mr. Paine to ascertain. He accordingly went to Fort Mercer, and from thence, on Nov. 9, (1777), went with Col. Christopher Greene commanding Fort Mercer, in an open boat to Fort Mifflin, during the cannonade, and was there when the enemy opened with two gun batteries and a mortar battery. This _very_ gallant act shows what a fearless man Mr. Paine was."

Lippincott's Biographical Dictionary: "He was secretary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs in Congress from April, 1777, to January, 1779."

It has been asserted by Mr. Roosevelt and others that Paine, because of his action in the Deane affair, was discharged from his position as secretary to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was not discharged, nor was he even asked to resign. He resigned of his own volition.

Franklin Steiner: "In 1778 a fraud was about to be committed upon the infant republic.... Paine wrote several articles for the press, exposing the entire corrupt transaction, and of course made enemies of all involved in the dishonest affair, who at once made attempts to have him discharged from his position, in which they failed."

"A motion for his dismission was lost."--_Dr. Conway_.

"Congress refused to vote that it was 'an abuse of office,' or to discharge him."--_Ibid_.

It was Paine's honesty and patriotism, a desire to protect the interests of his adopted country, that caused him to make his exposure. His "indiscretion," as some diplomats characterized it, saved the Colonies a million livres. Pennsylvania applauded the act and rebuked his censors by appointing him clerk of the Assembly. His whole subsequent career--his continued labors in behalf of the Colonies--the confidence reposed in him by all the people--show that his ability, his integrity, and his patriotism were never questioned.

In less than three years after the Deane affair the members of Congress who had honestly espoused Deane's cause acknowledged the justice and wisdom of Paine's exposure.

John Jay Knox: "In 1780 occurred the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. The army was in great distress.... Thomas Paine, the Clerk in the Pennsylvania Assembly, in a letter to Blair McClenaghan, suggested a subscription for relief of the army and enclosed a contribution of $500.

American Cyclopedia: "A letter [dated May 28, 1780] was received by the Assembly of Pennsylvania from Gen. Washington, saying that, notwithstanding his confidence in the attachment of the army to the cause of the country, he feared their distresses would soon cause mutiny in the ranks. This letter was read by Paine as clerk. A despairing silence pervaded the hall, and the Assembly soon adjourned. Paine wrote to Blair McClenaghan, a merchant of Philadelphia, explaining the urgency of affairs, and enclosed in the letter $500, the amount of salary due him as clerk, as his contribution toward a relief fund. McClenaghan called a meeting next day and read Paine's letter; a subscription list was immediately circulated, and in a short time £300,000 [nearly $1,500,000] Pennsylvania currency was collected. With this as a capital, the Pennsylvania Bank, afterwards expanded into the Bank of North America, was established for the relief of the army."

Cassell's Dictionary of Religion: "In 1781 Paine was sent to France with Col. Laurens to negotiate a loan in which he was more than successful, for the French granted a subsidy of six million livres, and became a guarantor of ten millions advanced by Holland."

Lamartine says the King "loaded Paine with favors." His gift of six millions was "confided to Franklin and Paine."

Robert Morris (Feb. 10, 1782): "They [Morris, Minister of Finance, Livingston, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Washington, Commander-in-Chief] are agreed that it will be much for the interest of the United States that Mr. Paine be retained in their [the United States'] service."

Charles Wilson Peale: "Personal acquaintance with him gives me an opportunity of knowing that he had done more for our cause than the world who had only seen his publications could know."

"America is indebted to few characters more than to you."--_Gen. Nathaniel Greene_.

Calvin Blanchard: "He stood the acknowledged leader of American statesmanship, and the soul of the Revolution, by the proclamation of the legislatures of all the states and that of the Congress of the United States."

Pennsylvania Council (Dec. 6, 1784): "So important were his services during the late contest that those persons whose own merits in the course of it have been the most distinguished concur with a highly honorable unanimity in entertaining sentiments of esteem for him."

"The attention of Pennsylvania is drawn toward Mr. Paine by motives equally grateful to the human heart and reputable to the Republic."

Pennsylvania Assembly: "Thomas Paine did, during the progress of the Revolution, voluntarily devote himself to the service of the public, without accepting recompense therefor, and, moreover, did decline taking or receiving the profits which authors are entitled to on the sale of their literary works, but relinquished them for the better accommodation of the country and the honor of the public cause."

Rev. Dr. M. J. Savage: "He wrote the book which caused the Declaration of Independence, a book in such great demand that the presses groaned for months in endeavoring to supply the demand; a book, the income from the circulation of which, to-day would make a man rich, and yet he steadfastly refused to receive a cent for it."

More than fifty years ago, the Rev. Moncure D. Conway, then pastor of a church in Cincinnati, in a eulogy on Paine, said: "So disinterested was he, that, when his works were printed by the ten thousand, and as fast as one edition was out another was demanded, he, a poor and pinched author, who might very easily have grown rich, would not accept one cent for them, declared that he would not coin his principles, and made to the States a present of the copyrights. His brain was his fortune,--nay his living; he gave it all to American Independence." Paine also gave the copyrights of the several numbers of his "Crisis" to the States. The close of the Revolution found him, to quote from Dr. Conway's biography of Paine, "a penniless patriot who might easily have had fifty thousand pounds in his pocket."

(I shall quote freely from Dr. Conway. For all time this biographer will be the standard authority on Thomas Paine. He was a life-long student of Paine. In each of the three countries which Paine served, America, France and England, he had full access to the national archives of Paine's time. He was a distinguished pulpit orator in both hemispheres, and had a world-wide reputation as a literary man. Above all his love of truth and justice and His rugged honesty and candor make him a witness whose testimony is unimpeachable. To him Andrew Carnegie pays this tribute: "He has passed, but he has left behind him a precious legacy to all who were so fortunate as to be able to call him friend. They are better men and women because Moncure Conway lived and entered into their lives.")

United States Congress (Aug. 26, 1785): "_Resolved_, That the early, unsolicited, and continued labors of Mr. Thomas Paine, in explaining and enforcing the principles of the late Revolution by ingenious and timely publications upon the nature of liberty and civil government have been well received by the citizens of these States, and merit the approbation of Congress."

This resolution was passed by a unanimous vote.

Allibone's Dictionary of Authors: "He was rewarded by a donation from Congress of $3,000."

"In 1782, at the suggestion of Washington, Congress granted $800 to Paine.... In 1784 the State of New York presented him with 277 acres of land at New Rochelle, and Pennsylvania with £500; and in 1785 Congress gave him $3,000."--_International Encyclopedia_.

"Some writers have denied his political services, and have declared it impossible that a stranger at the outbreak of the Colonial struggle, he could have influenced public opinion in America; but such should remember that the contemporaries of Paine--and worthy men many of them certainly were who associated with Paine--judged differently, and not only freely circulated his writings but gave expression to their worth,... besides conferring on him the degree of M. A. (Pennsylvania University), and membership in their choicest literary association, the American Philosophical Society."--_McClintock and Strong's Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Cyclopedia_.

"Let it not be supposed that Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Randolph, and the rest were carried away by a meteor. Deep answers only unto deep."--_Dr. Conway_.

Drake's Dictionary of American Biography: "His powerful exertions to promote the independence of America constitutes a high claim upon the gratitude of his adopted country."

Ignatius Donnelly: "Paine did a great work during the Revolutionary war in behalf of liberty and deserves to be forever remembered."

McClintock and Strong's Biblical Theological and Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia, to quote again from this standard Christian authority, says: "The truth cannot be withheld that Thomas Paine was one of the most powerful actors in the Revolutionary drama.... His services to his adopted country should not be forgotten."

"As the Tyrtaeus of the Revolution, and it is no exaggeration to style him such, we owe everlasting gratitude to his name and memory."--_Rev. Solomon Southwick._

John Spencer Bassett: "History cannot forget that he was an important promoter of the Revolution."

"Paine's brawny arm applied the torch which set the country in a flame, to be extinguished only by the relinquishment of British supremacy; and for this, irrespective of his motives and character, he merits the gratitude of every American."--_Gen. William A. Stokes._

"No man rendered grander, service to this country, and no man ought to be more cherished or remembered than Thomas Paine."--_Rev. Minot J. Savage, D. D._

Paul Allen: "Those who regard the independence of the United States as a blessing will never cease to cherish the remembrance of Thomas Paine."

"To the welfare of Thomas Paine the Americans are not nor can they be indifferent."--_James Monroe._

Hon. Elizur Wright: "It was Thomas Paine, more than any other man, or any other thing, who turned the current of history in the New World."

Rev. John Snyder: "Paine did more than any other single man to create this nation. I simply speak what will some day be the sober judgment of history."

"There was no man in the Colonies who contributed so much to bring the open Declaration of Independence to a crisis as Thomas Paine."--_William Howitt._

"He did more for the American cause and for American independence than any other man."--_Sir Hiram Maxim._

"Like a magnificent dream the figure of this republic arose in his brain.... The result was victory; and Thomas Paine, the dreamer, the writing soldier, had done more than any other man to make this country free, and to give it a place among the nations of the world."--_Marshall J. Gaumn._

"He was the real founder of the American republic."--_Henry Frank._

"He wrote the word 'Independence,' and created the greatest nation in the world."

Hon. John W. Hoyt, LL.D.: "Thomas Paine inspired the Revolution by his spirit, maintained it when in the darkest hours of the battle it seemed that the spark of liberty would go out."

Dr. J. R. Monroe: "With the wand of his genius he turned aside the scroll that concealed the future of our country, and by the inspiring picture he thus presented our disheartened and hard-pressed forefathers were nerved to press forward, to brave every peril, to dare every danger, to defy every death, till tyranny was throttled and man was free."

Rev. Martin K. Schermerhorn: "When our children's children shall celebrate America's _second_ centennial a hundred years from now, they will write in largest letters upon their national banner this sentence which all intelligent American citizens will then enthusiastically recognize and applaud: 'Thomas Paine--the Patriot... of two hundred years ago.'"

Stephen Simpson: "To the genius of Thomas Paine as a popular writer, and to that of George Washington as a prudent, skillful, and consummate general, are the American people indebted for their rights, liberty and independence."

Mrs. Hypatia Bradlaugh-Bonner: "With Washington he played the foremost part in the American Revolution. If Washington was the sword and the strong arm, Paine was the heart and brains of that great struggle. He was the mouth-piece of the aspirations of a continent. He dared to utter the thoughts that lay concealed in the secret hearts of the people. He sounded the demand for the Independence of the Continent. He bound together the separate colonies, and proclaimed 'The Free and Independent States of America.'"

Thomas Paine was the creator of this great Republic. He was the real father of our country; Washington was its foster father. Paine's pen transformed a petty rebellion into a mighty revolution and made a rebel chief the triumphant defender of a new-born nation. Washington's fame is secure. His right to a place in the pantheon of earth's immortals will never be denied. And when the clouds of prejudice are dispelled, as they will be, Paine's name will shine with a splendor unsurpassed, never to be obscured again.

THE "RIGHTS OF MAN" AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.

Thomas H. Dyer, LL.D.: "An active agent in the French Revolution."

"One of those celebrated foreigners whom the nation ought with eagerness to adopt."--_Madame Roland._

M. Cheslay: "He defended in London the principles of the French Revolution."

Brockhaus' Konversatjons-Lexikon: "After he returned to England in 1791 he published his 'Rights of Man.' (translated into many languages) in which he defended the French Revolution against the assaults of Burke."

Porter C. Bliss: "Published, in 1791-92 his 'Rights of Man' [two parts], a vindication of the French Revolution, in reply to Burke, which gave him immense popularity in France and led to a bestowal of citizenship and his election to the French National Convention."

"He was made a French Citizen by the same decree with Washington, Hamilton, Priestley and Sir James Mackintosh."--_Joel Barlow_.

Nelson's Encyclopedia: "The book was dedicated to Washington, was translated into French and made a, great impression." (The second part was dedicated to Lafayette.)

Edmund Gosse, LL.D.: "The circulation was so enormous that it had a distinct effect in coloring public opinion."

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography: "His 'Rights of Man,' if the undenied statement as to its circulation (a million and a half of copies is correct) was more largely read in England and France than any other political work ever published."

Chamber's Encyclopedia: "The most famous of all the replies to Burke's 'Reflections on the French Revolution.' A million and a half copies were sold in England alone."

John Hall (London, January, 1792): "Burke's publication has produced nearly fifty different answers. Nothing has ever been so read as Paine's answer."

Edward Baines, LL.D.: "Editions were multiplied in every form and size; it was alike seen in the hands of the noble and the plebeian, and became, at length, translated into the various languages of Europe."

Paris Moniteur (Nov. 8, 1792): "That which will astonish posterity is that at Stockholm, five months after the death of Gustavus, and while the northern Powers are leaguing themselves against the liberty of France, there has been published a translation of Thomas Paine's 'Rights of Man,' the translator being one of the King's secretaries."

The following is a summary of Paine's political philosophy as presented in the "Rights of Man":

1. Government is the organization of the aggregate natural rights which individuals are not competent to secure individually, and therefore surrender to the control of society in exchange for the protection of all rights.

2. Republican government is that in which the welfare of the whole nation is the object.

3. Monarchy is government, more or less arbitrary, in which the interests of an individual are paramount to those of the people generally.

4. Aristocracy is government, partially arbitrary, in which the interests of a class are paramount to the people generally.

5. Democracy is the whole people governing themselves without secondary means.

6. Representative government is the control of a nation by persons elected by the whole nation.

7. The Rights of Man mean the right of all to representation.

Paine advocated a republic (2.) with a representative government (6.). The first real republic with a representative government of importance established in the world was in the United States of America, of which, when religious prejudice passes away, Thomas Paine will be recognized as the founder.

Professor J. B. Bury, LL.D.: "His 'Rights of Man' is an indictment of the monarchical form of government, and a plea for representative democracy."

Terrible but truthful is Paine's indictment of monarchy: "All the monarchical governments are military. War is their trade; plunder and revenue their objects. While such governments continue, peace has not the absolute security of a day. What is the history of all monarchical governments but a disgustful picture of human wretchedness, and the accidental respite of a few years repose. Wearied with war and tired with human butchery, they sat down to rest and called it peace."

This is his conception of an ideal government:

"When it shall be said in any country in the world, '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 of its constitution and its government."

"The political events of our own day--of the present hour--point to the time when the ambitions and the wars of monarchy will be at an end, and when republican peace will reign throughout the world. Then shall the dream of Thomas Paine, the world's greatest citizen of the world, be realized."--_Marshall J. Gaitvin._

Washington Irving: "A reprint of Paine's 'Rights of Man,' written in reply to Burke's pamphlet on the French Revolution, appeared [in America] under the auspices of Mr. Jefferson."

In introducing Paine's work to the American people Jefferson, then Secretary of State, said: "I have no doubt our citizens will rally a second time round the standard of 'Common Sense.'"

The Builders of the Nation: "At this time the Republican party as it was called, accepted the views of Jefferson, and as he openly accepted Paine's 'Rights of Man' it followed that the advanced views contained in that book grew to be held measurably as the party tenets of his followers."

Prof. E. D. Adams, Ph. D.: "As a cult [democracy], the theory undoubtedly first found adequate expression amongst us in the writings of Thomas Paine.... In these two books ['Common Sense' and 'Rights of Man'] Paine was then the first to state the ideal of democracy, as it later came to be accepted in America under the leadership of Jefferson."

In a letter to Monroe, referring to the censure he had received for his endorsement of Paine's book, Jefferson says: "I certainly merit the same, for I profess the same principles."

In a letter to Paine (June 19, 1792,) Jefferson says: "Our good people are firm and unanimous in their principles of Republicanism, and there is no better proof of it than that they love what you write and read it with delight."

James Madison declared the "Rights of Man" to be "a written defense of the principles on which that [our] Government is based."

For our so-called Jeffersonian Democracy we are indebted to Thomas Paine. He formulated its principles. Jefferson, Madison and others of his disciples popularized them.

After commending the "Rights of Man" Richard Henry Lee wrote: "I sincerely regret that our country could not have offered sufficient inducements to have retained as a permanent citizen a man so thoroughly republican in sentiment and fearless in the expression of his opinions."

In his book, one of the most brilliant volumes ever penned, Burke, long the friend of popular government, defended royalty and aristocracy. He sought to arouse the sympathies of Europe in behalf of royalty and aristocracy in France which were tottering to their fall, a disaster which endangered their existence everywhere. The book was circulated by tens of thousands. Captivated by its marvelous beauty a reaction in favor of despotism was setting in when Paine's immortal work appeared. The glowing rhetoric of Burke went down before the merciless logic of Paine.

Burke is filled with sorrow for the French king and nobles whose rule and privileges have been abolished or restricted, but expresses none for the millions who for centuries have been persecuted, impoverished and imprisoned by the ruling classes. In words that come from the heart of the author and which reach the hearts of the people, Paine answers him:

"Not one glance of compassion, not one commiserating reflection, that I can find throughout his book, has he bestowed on those that lingered out the most wretched of lives; a life without hope, in the most miserable of prisons. It is painful to behold a man employing his talents to corrupt himself. Nature has been kinder to Mr. Burke than he has been to her. He is not affected by the reality of distress touching upon his heart, but by the showy resemblance of it striking his imagination. He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird. Accustomed to kiss the aristocratic hand that hath purloined him from himself, he degenerates into a composition of art, and the genuine soul of nature forsakes him. His hero or his heroine must be a tragedy-victim, expiring in show, and not the real prisoner of misery, sliding into death in the silence of a dungeon."

Referring to this intellectual combat William Cobbett, one of England's most distinguished political writers, writing more than a quarter of a century after Paine's reply to Burke, says: "As my Lord Grenville introduced the name of Burke, suffer me, my Lord, to introduce that of a man who put this Burke to shame, who drove him off the public stage to seek shelter in the pension list, and who is now named fifty million times where the name of the pensioned Burke is mentioned once."

Lord John Morley: "Thomas Paine replied to them [Burke's 'Reflections'] with an energy, courage and eloquence worthy of his cause in the 'Rights of Man.'"

"In brilliant rhetoric Burke argued its [Natural Rights] dangerous and baseless nature.. Paine in his even more brilliant 'Rights of Man,' answered Burke."--_Encyclopedia of Social Reform._

Thomas Campbell: "He strongly answered at the bar of public opinion all the arguments of Burke. I do not deny that fact; and I should be sorry if I could be blind, even with tears in my eyes for Mackintosh, to the services that have been rendered to the cause of truth by the shrewdness and courage of Thomas Paine."

(Great events inspire great works. Three of the masterpieces of literature were inspired by the French Revolution, Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the French Revolution" condemning it, and Sir James Mackintosh's "Vindiciæ Gallicæ" and Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" defending it.)

Dictionary of National Biography (England): "Paine is the only English writer who exposes with uncompromising sharpness the abstract doctrines of political rights held by the French Revolutionists."

Charles James Fox: "It ['Rights of Man'] seems as clear and as simple as the first rules of arithmetic."

Manchester Constitutional Society (March 13, 1792): "A work of the highest importance to every nation under heaven, but particularly to this, as containing excellent and practical plans for an immediate and considerable reduction of the public expenditure; for the prevention of wars; for the extension of our manufactures and commerce; for the education of the young; for the comfortable support of the aged; for the better maintenance of the poor."

Sheffield Society for Constitutional Information (March 14, 1792): "We have derived more true knowledge from the two works of Thomas Paine, entitled 'Rights of Man,' Parts First and Second, than from any other author. The practice as well as the principle of government is laid down in those works in a manner so clear and irresistibly convincing."

James Anthony Froude: "Copies of Paine's 'Rights of Man' were sown broadcast [in Ireland]."

"Protestant Belfast had declared itself a disciple of Paine."

"The Irish patriots were red republicans... anxious to establish in Ireland the principles of Paine."

"Paine," says his biographer, Dr. Conway, "held a supremacy in the constitutional clubs of England and Ireland equal to that of Robespierre over the Jacobins of Paris."

William Pitt (to Lady Hester Stanhope, who had quoted from the "Rights of Man"): "Paine is quite in the right, but what am I to do?"

Sir James Mackintosh: "His bold speculations and fierce invectives indicated the approach of social confusion."

Prof. G. P. Gooch, M.A.: "The 'Rights of Man,' compelled attention not less by the novelty of its ideas than by its consummate pamphleteering skill.... The alarm increased when it was known that the book was selling by tens of thousands."

Diccionaris Enciclopedico (Spain): "The friends of the Government burned Paine in effigy in the streets of London. Later he was proclaimed the great apostle of liberty and the father of the Revolution."

Gouverneur Morris: "Bonnville is here [Paris]. He is just returned from England. He tells me that Paine's book works mightily in England."

Louis Blanc: "The militia were armed, in the southeast of England troops received orders to march to London, the meeting of Parliament was advanced forty days, the Tower was reinforced by a new garrison, in fine there was enrolled a formidable preparation of war--against Thomas Paine's book on the 'Rights of Man.'"

H. D. Traill, D.C.L.: "Paine's book on the 'Rights of Man' was known to have an enormous circulation, and he was prosecuted for it under the proclamation of May, 1792. Paine's counsel argued in vain that it had never been held criminal to express opinions on the problems of political philosophy.... Paine was condemned."

"He was defended by Erskine, who was then in the zenith of his glory as an advocate, in a speech of marvelous power and eloquence."--_Hon. E. B. Washburne._

J. Redman ("London, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1792, 5 P.M."): "Mr. Paine's trial is this instant over. Erskine shone like the morning star. The instant Erskine closed his speech the venal jury [it was a packed jury] interrupted the Attorney General, who was about to make reply, and without waiting for any answer, or any summing up by the Judge, pronounced him guilty. Such an instance of infernal corruption is scarcely upon record."

Paine's case was set for June, 1792, and he was anxious to go to trial then. At the request of the Government it was postponed till December. In the meantime Paine, having been elected to the National Convention, went to France. Had he remained in England death or a long imprisonment would have been his fate, the charge against him being high treason.

Alexander Gilchrist: "On Paine's rising to leave [he had delivered a radical address in London the night before], Blake [William] laid his hand on the orator's shoulder, saying, 'You must not go home, or you are a dead man,' and he hurried him off on his way to France.... Those were hanging days in England."

Dr. James Currie (1793): "The prosecutions that are commenced all over England against printers, publishers, etc., would astonish you; and most of these are for offenses committed months ago. The printer of the Manchester _Herald_ has had... six different indictments for selling or disposing of six different copies of Paine--all previous to the trial of Paine. The man was opulent, supposed worth £20,000; but these different actions will ruin him, as they were intended to do."

The trial of Paine was followed by a veritable reign of terror in England. Alluding to the prosecutions and persecutions of the publishers and venders of Paine's books, Buckle, in his "History of Civilization," says: "It is no exaggeration to say that for some years England was ruled by a system of absolute terror."

It was over the writings of Thomas Paine chiefly, his "Rights of Man" at first and later his "Age of Reason," that the battle for free speech and a free press in England was fought and won. In this great struggle England's gifted statesman, Charles James Fox, whom Edmund Burke describes as "the greatest debater the world ever saw," and whom Sir James Mackintosh declares to De "the most Demosthenian speaker since Demosthenes," ably and fearlessly upheld the rights of Paine and the disseminators of his writings and teachings. In this struggle the poet Shelley, too, did valiant work.

Richard Carlile: "It is not too much to say that if the 'Rights of Man' had obtained two or three years' free circulation in England and Scotland, it would have produced a similar effect to that which 'Common Sense' did in the United States."

Sir Francis Burdett: "Ministers know that a united people are not to be resisted; and it is this that we must understand by what is written in the works of an honest man too long calumniated. I mean Thomas Paine."

M. Brissot: "The grievance of the British Cabinet against France is not that Louis is in judgment, but that Thomas Paine wrote the 'Rights of Man'."

Abbe Sieyes: "His 'Rights of Man,' translated into our language, is universally known; and where is the patriotic Frenchman who has not already, from the depths of his soul, thanked him for having fortified our cause with all the power of his reason and his reputation."

"Paine's 'Rights of Man'," says Dr. Conway, "had been in every French home. His portrait, painted by Romney and engraved by Sharp, was in every cottage, framed in immortelles." Napoleon Bonaparte said: "I always sleep with the 'Rights of Man' beneath my pillow." Hon. Elihu B. Washburne, Minister of the United States to France during President Grant's administration, and later a prominent candidate for president of the United States himself, in a monograph on Thomas Paine, says: "He at once became a hero in France, and was everywhere received with enthusiasm. The doors of the _salons_ and clubs of Paris were opened to him, and he was soon recognized as one of the advanced figures in the Revolution, standing by the side of de Bonneville, Brissot and Condorcet."

It is a commonly accepted opinion that the French Revolution was inspired chiefly by the writings of Rousseau and Voltaire. Hardly less potent, however, were Paine's "Rights of Man," published at the beginning of the Revolution, and his "Common Sense," which electrified France fifteen years before. Referring to these French writings and the "Rights of Man," Dr. Conway says: "In this book the philosophy of visionary reformers took practical shape. From the ashes of Rousseau's 'Contrat Social,' burnt in Paris, rose the 'Rights of Man,' no phoenix, but an eagle of the new world, with eye not blinded by any royal sun. It comes to tell how by union of France and America--of Lafayette and Washington--the 'Contrat Social' was framed into the Constitution of a happy and glorious new earth."

Charles Knight: "In the week of the flight of Louis [June, 1791] Paine wrote in English a proclamation to the French nation, which, being translated, was affixed to all the walls of Paris. It was an invitation to the people to profit by existing circumstances, and establish a Republic."