1st Edition

My Pen and My Soul Have Ever Gone Together Thomas Paine and the American Revolution

By Vikki Vickers Copyright 2006
    200 Pages
    by Routledge

    196 Pages
    by Routledge

    The first true intellectual biography of Thomas Paine, this book establishes the origins of his beliefs and their influence on his activism. For the past century, scholars have been studying Paine in piecemeal fashion; studies of limited scope focused on the minutiae of Paine's life and career, but no clear portrait had existed to know how the pieces fitted together. This "is" the complete picture. Who he was, what he believed, why he believed, and how his beliefs and personal history are reflected in his political activism - not just in the American Revolution, but also the French Revolution.

    Table of Contents: Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Pennsylvania Magazine 2. The Devil's Advocate: Thomas Paine and The Making of Common Sense 3. Why Thomas Paine? 4. The Origins and Significance of Thomas Paine's Religious Beliefs 5. One God and No More: The Strange Mission of Thomas Paine Conclusion Appendix: Common Sense: An Historiographical Overview Notes Bibliography Index

    Biography

    Vikki J. Vickers is Assistant Professor of History at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. She is the author of The American Revolution: America's First War (2006).