Fiery Rhetorician

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Fiery Rhetorician

“Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington

would have been wielded in vain.”--John Adams.

My name is

Thomas Paine.

I fought for liberty

all my life.

I met Ben Franklin in Europe

in 1773. At his invitation. I came

to the American Colonies in 1775;

just in time for the revolution.

My Atlantic crossing had been perilous.

Five died of typhoid fever during the voyage.

I met Bob Aitican, a printer

who wanted to start an “American Magazine”,

with topical articles, versus the reprinted

British articles appearing in other publications.

Together we launched Pennsylvania Magazine.

I became the editor. It was very successful.

We were the first to come out against African Slavery.

After the Stamp Act, I became an angry critic

of King George III. I wrote a pamphlet called

Common Sense. Initially, it was so inflammatory,

I had to sign it as Anonymous, but it caught the

attention of all those who loved freedom. It was

used as a recruitment tool during the war. I used

my own name on it at that point. I was the one who

penned the phrase,These are the times to try men’s

souls. I was dubbed as the Father of the American 

Revolution; a title I wore proudly.

I was considered a radical, liberal and muckraker

for the next decade. Then in 1789, the French

Revolution started, I went to France, and joined in.

I wrote The Rights of Man to fuel the resistance.

I was imprisoned, and barely escaped a death

sentence. I was saved by Ambassador James 

Monroe. He helped me to get back home.

I was fortunate to live to age 72, dying with a wry

smile on my lips, knowing the impact my words

had made on History.

Thanks to Paine, the great

American eagle stayed aloft

for 250 years.

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at d'Verse Poets Pub