By: Bryan Cooper

Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine was the equivalent to a major journalist of today. His writings influenced many groups of people and Country’s.

A corset maker by trade and a journalist by profession, he influenced the French Revolution with “The Rights of Man” and was elected to the French National Convention in 1792.

Paine along with Thomas Jefferson believed that a military force wasn’t needed for America using commerce instead with embargos as punishment when needed.

Being a founding father and being a bit radical in his writings, he had many friends and enemies.

He spoke out against the restraints of Christianity which hurt him not only abroad but at home in his book “Age of Reason” promoting free thinking and against institutionalized religion. He also wrote “Agrarian Justice” 1795 talking about minimum wage and origins of property.