Thomas Paine

On January 29, 1737, Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England and he died  on June 8, 1809 at the age of 72 in New York City. He failed and dropped off school, later he tried to be his father's apprentice but also failed. Later he started sailing but also stopped doing that and ended up as a tax collector. He was kind of failing even as a tax collector and with the experience in this job he wrote a book, The Case of the Officers of Excise in 1772. In his book he talked about the life of the tax collectors and also asked or demanded their salaries to be raised.

In 1776 Thomas published a very important book, called Common Sense, which created conscience in people of how they were manipulated by the monarchy and the british government. This book directly criticized the british government and monarchy and attacked them by turning people against them. In order for the book to achieve more effect on all people including the less educated, Paine wrote it in common everyday language. This work can be considered as the first one to ask people directly to get the  independence from Britain. We can see that he really aimed for independence and did persuade people into it by his ways of speaking and expressing himself as an American.

In here we can see a part of Common Sense in which we can see the simpleness that Paine uses in order to reach the American's hearts. We can also see how he sees America, as an own country that they have to fight for.

“Entrepreneur’s Credo

I do not choose to be a common man,

It is my right to be uncommon … if I can,

I seek opportunity … not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen.

Humbled and dulled by having the

State look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk;

To dream and to build.

To fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;

I prefer the challenges of life

To the guaranteed existence;

The thrill of fulfillment

To the stale calm of Utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence

Nor my dignity for a handout

I will never cower before any master

Nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect.

Proud and unafraid;

To think and act for myself,

To enjoy the benefit of my creations

And to face the world boldly and say:

This, with God’s help, I have done

All this is what it means

To be an Entrepreneur.”

― Thomas Paine, Common Sense

These kind of works really inspired the Americans to defy the British in order for obtaining their independence.

Paine also wrote other important books for the Americans. The American Crisis, The Rights of Man,  and Age of Reason are some of his works. In The American Crisis, he does a collection of articles written by himself during the American Revolutionary War. In The Rights of Man he tells how the people can overtake governments if they don't respect and defend the Natural Rights. In the Age of Reason he defies christianity, religion, and the legitimacy of the Bible.