As I wrote that, I looked around for a foil and landed on this:
Let’s compare Paine to, say, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, author of Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, the most influential American political essay before Common Sense.Dickinson made even more contributions to the American cause, such as writing the first draft of the Articles of Confederation and chairing the Annapolis Convention.
In addition to writing that book and “The Liberty Song,” Dickinson was an important delegate to the Continental Congress, top official of Pennsylvania’s wartime government, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
Dickinson was on the losing side of the debate over the Declaration of Independence but on the right side of the debate over slavery.
Nonetheless, back in 2011 I could find only two recent books on Dickinson, one from a press affiliated with the National Review and the other by Jane Calvert, apparently based on her doctoral dissertation.
Calvert went on to launch the John Dickinson Writings Project, where she is Director and Chief Editor, as well as becoming a professor at the University of Kentucky.
Oxford University Press has just announced that next summer it will publish Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson by Calvert. This will be the first full, scholarly, modern biographer of this important and unique figure among the Founders.
Ironically, Calvert’s university webpage says, “Professor Calvert has also produced work on Thomas Paine.” So it’s possible to do both!
her essay on Paine and the Quakers is excellent—highly recommended
ReplyDeletein a neat, unique collection of Paine’s writings with only a smattering of additional commentary, her close scholarship stood out
if you have the slightest interest in Paine, Quakerism, revolutionary PA or how political hysteria/personal agendas unfold following the outbreak of a major war, go read it
Paine might be excused for the hypocritical ethical lapse, however, and I wish she would have further explored the perspective of Paine and the other patriots. It’s a sensitive, crucial topic. Calvert makes the obvious, important parallels to Japanese internment and the post-9/11 persecution of American Muslims.
if you’re interested in Paine’s relationship to the Quakers—a fascinating subject worthy of further research and perhaps even a book—also look into the Vickers study. More perceptive analysis! Calvert only scratches the surface because Paine clearly saw the ways that state and religion can interact, often to pernicious ends. Organized religions only further complicate wartime politics, all the more so because of Quakerism’s historic pacifism and the local community’s exemption from military service.
Finally, Calvert’s essay bucks the recent pro-Paine trend pointed out in the original 2012 link. There might even be more to the story she relates! It’s a suggestive essay on an incredibly important topic. Paine of any of the Founders would seem immune to wartime hysteria targeting a minority population. But, no, he came to despise Quaker revolutionary politics as a dangerous, disingenuous charade. Were there good reasons for Paine’s quite hostile stance? Calvert’s essay is mum on the point. But there need to be definite limits to the hero worship of Paine, and the best Paine scholars like A. Owen Aldridge, Jack Keane,
Jack Fruchtman and Calvert ask probing, revealing questions and then model critical inquiry.
Revolutions are combustible, dangerous things. All the more so during the American Revolution’s early days when it was de facto civil war and the urge to perform hasty, questionable dragnets looked eminently justifiable, if not utterly urgent. Not all wartime efforts are foiled by warriors. Calvert shows how Paine and the PA Quakers were central to some very messy, disturbing stories.