tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post8032703392500878211..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: The College Where You Can Minor in PaineUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-6696950246012617662013-09-16T10:59:10.329-05:002013-09-16T10:59:10.329-05:00Yes, Paine came late to the North American movemen...Yes, Paine came late to the North American movement against Parliament's taxes, after many people were already demanding some big changes in colonial government. On the other hand, he quickly became a leading voice in advocating independence and republicanism. Not the only voice, but an important one. <br /><br />My experience tells me not to hold someone wholly responsible for a quotation in a newspaper. We don't know the context or accuracy of that quote. But it's the sort of thing a Paine fan might well say. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-85473251820657039122013-09-16T10:20:54.658-05:002013-09-16T10:20:54.658-05:00I'm sure I'm not the only one who flinched...I'm sure I'm not the only one who flinched when Mulkern said, "this is Thomas Paine, the man who called for revolution!" As if Paine was the lone voice crying in the wilderness. <br /><br />Not to discount Common Sense, but more than one person "called for revolution" in order for it to happen.Daud Alzayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00159094499713375760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-45322893915047450402013-09-14T14:26:42.620-05:002013-09-14T14:26:42.620-05:00I think there are two reasons authors portray Pain...I think there are two reasons authors portray Paine's post-Revolutionary life as a decline.<br /><br />First, he was politically less successful. The French Revolution didn't work out as well for him or the people. He burned some political bridges in the U.S. of A. and ended up with much less influence here.<br /><br />Second, for some authors Paine's political radicalism, religious unorthodoxy, and/or attacks on President Washington made him dislikable. Yet they couldn't repudiate his writings during the Revolutionary War. So they presented his story as a sad decline from his wartime peak. <br /><br />I think Paine really did suffer from a loss of standing in the U.S., but it looks like early biographers and later historians exaggerated his plight at the end of his life. He appears to have lived rather comfortably then, perhaps disappointed that not all his dreams panned out—but after all he did dream big.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-46608246937416907122013-09-13T17:29:46.079-05:002013-09-13T17:29:46.079-05:00Why would it be a decline? I think he wrote his be...Why would it be a decline? I think he wrote his best stuff after the Revolution. Xathoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05910312481367024828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-74177858228020198622013-09-12T12:13:17.599-05:002013-09-12T12:13:17.599-05:00Imagine how he felt! Though Paine scholar and fan ...Imagine how he felt! Though Paine scholar and fan Ken Burchell has argued that <a href="http://kenburchell.blogspot.com/2012/08/was-thomas-paine-depressed-drunk-and.html" rel="nofollow">aspects of Paine’s decline were greatly exaggerated</a>. J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-21651880035639400492013-09-12T09:54:07.264-05:002013-09-12T09:54:07.264-05:00About a month ago, I read a bio of Paine that incl...About a month ago, I read a bio of Paine that included 'Common Sense' and some of his other works. I found his postwar decline disappointing...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com