ABSTRACT

Thomas Paine is a unique political thinker who has continued to attract scholarly and popular attention from the time he wrote about both the American and French Revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century. This collection brings together the most recent essays debating the meaning and relevance of Paine's works. It includes an historiographical survey of scholarship about Paine and articles by the leading authorities in the field. The essays survey his life, analyze his ideas, place them in their social and intellectual context, and appraise their significance today.

part I|38 pages

Survey of the Literature

chapter 2|8 pages

The Lifelong Education of Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

Some Reflections upon His Acquaintance among Books

part II|145 pages

Tom Paine and the History of Political Ideas

chapter 4|18 pages

Thomas Paine

“Prepare in Time an Asylum for Mankind”

chapter 9|23 pages

Thomas Paine

Ransom, Civil Peace, and the Natural Right to Welfare

part III|84 pages

Paine and Republican Ideology

part IV|92 pages

Paine and the Social History of Ideas

chapter 16|30 pages

Religion and Radicalism

English Political Theory in the Age of Revolution