Happy 4th: History’s Hit Job on Thomas Paine
July 4, 2008
Note: This is a repost originally published last July 4th on CounterPunch. Ironically, this date would also mark my introduction to the writings of some guy called D.K. Wilson whose “The Sliming of Tank Johnson” was published by CP the very same day. Enjoy the long weekend all.
Given our current state of the union, this past 4th of July seemed as good a time as any to pay patriotic homage to our country’s greatest American revolutionary… Thomas Paine. Unlike George Washington, there is no holiday in his honor. Unlike Thomas Jefferson, there is no memorial in the Washington mall. And unlike many other of his dead revolutionary peers, you won’t find his picture in your wallet no matter how big a spender you are. And despite history’s hit job on his legacy, it just doesn’t get too much more American than the man who created the phrase: “United States of America”[1]. Paine was simultaneously a revolutionary during his time and 230 years ahead of his time.
Good American Revolutionary! When it came to the American Revolution, General Washington was the fighter and Thomas Paine was the writer. John Adams stated: “Without the pen of the author of ‘Common Sense,’ the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain”. Paine’s American Crisis Papers may have been equally as inspirational in winning the war as “Common Sense” was able to galvanize popular support for it. His “Rights of Man” which supported the French Revolution and, more broadly, human rights, quickly became one of the most popular books ever published. It called on Englishmen to join France and the US in a government “of the people and for the people and by the people” [2] at a time when Abraham Lincoln was not even born. Had Paine not escaped near execution in a Luxemburg jail he was committed to in 1793, he may have very well gone on to become our country’s most iconic founder. While mention of Paine’s ‘Common Sense’, and perhaps even “The Crisis Papers”, can usually be found in your average 8th grade textbook, his legacy often ends right there. Perhaps intentionally so.
Bad American Revolutionary! Some freedom fighters just don’t know when to quit! Paine was a staunch and outspoken abolitionist. In this essay African Slavery in America, Paine, not one to mince words, published one of the very first articles in the US advocating the emancipation of all slaves. Its publishing date of March 8, 1775 may be just as significant as the essay itself. Paine also believed that women should be afforded equal rights and participation in the political process. And unlike many other founders, by 1895 Paine had come to advocate universal suffrage [3]. Paine was a free thinker and philosopher whose writings supported every forthcoming freedom movement (Civil War, Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights, etc.) on American soil. While he was initially beloved for his role in the American Revolution, he was essentially told to go back to his corner the more he kept talking all crazy about freedom for ALL its citizens. And when he openly criticized Christianity (see AGE of REASON) which, in his time, formed the backbone for monarchy, slavery, and inequality, well THAT was the last straw. Ultimately, he was ostracized, his hero status withdrawn, and his accomplishments minimized in our history books in the early 1800s. By 1809 he died broke and only a handful attended his funeral.
“Men of Their Times”: While our country continues to pay homage to popular slave-holding founders through schools, streets signs, and memorials, Paine is not nearly as well-known or celebrated in comparison, although gaining some recent ground. The sins of slaveholders are often overlooked, and iconic status is often the common “men of their times” (MOTT) pass. This pass – often granted by white men to white men – is otherwise known as the “but-mommy-everyone-else-is-doing-it” pass. And while some human rights violations deserve no pass at all no matter how historically popular, the MOTT pass still has an awful lot of holes in it. The founders weren’t “men of their times” at all: They were REVOLUTIONARIES! “Men of their time” liked to sip tea, not throw it overboard. Their chosen specialty was freedom fighting. Besides that, Jefferson’s writings and Washington’s freeing of his own slaves at death offer a pretty good clue about their actual belief systems vs. their actual actions.
In addition, the other founders were quite familiar with Thomas Paine. His ideas and writings were not only well-known, but also served as the central backdrop that informed the Declaration of Independence. …Many slave-holding founders didn’t suffer from “ignorance of their era”, they suffered from being spoiled from spending a lifetime never having to plow the fields, plant crops, pick cotton, clean their house, install a new deck, mow the lawn, wash dishes, do the laundry, and take out the garbage. The benefit package of human bondage was nothing to sneeze at, and not all freedom-fighters were ready to give up those perks. And even if the “men of their times” pass was actually true, shouldn’t the bar be raised just a tad bit before assigning iconic status? (Note: This is not to suggest historical facts about TJ’s writings or GW’s military generalship not be taught, this is a commentary on which “founding fathers” are and are not worthy of glorification.)
Man of OUR Times: Thomas Paine was ahead of his time, and this fact gives us options that few know exist. If saddled with “men of their times” versus “men of OUR times”, shouldn’t it be a no-brainer who gets the historical love? Shouldn’t our history books make it self-evident that all white men in white wigs were not created equal? Unfortunately, I never did learn anything about Thomas Paine “the abolitionist” or “women’s rights activist” in school. And I wonder why that is. With 230 years hindsight, why have we not adjusted who is deserving of our historical praise? Are the textbook-writing, building-naming, and monument-sculpting communities just really lazy or is there something else? While some still hold Paine’s criticism of Christianity against him, those critics tend to forget the lethally oppressive context of the late 1700’s, not to mention the constitution itself. And it is hard to come to grips with logic that gives the “men of their times” pass to slaveholders, but resists celebrating those that fiercely fought against the religious foundation for that very bondage. There are also many misconceptions about Paine (i.e. he was a deist, not an atheist), many of which are tackled in this 1925 essay by Thomas Edison.
Reversing History’s Hit Job: There may be a much greater issue at stake. To be aware of the FULL story of Thomas Paine is to throw a monkey-wrench into the lasting popular status and personal legacies of many of his revolutionary peers. Paine shines a clearer light on their personal crimes (human, if not legal), and also allows his readers to uphold and fight for the values of the American constitution in ANY era. To know Thomas Paine is to glorify American values of freedom and equality without hypocrisy, and to challenge hypocrisy wherever we find it. To honor Thomas Paine is to simultaneously commend the best and condemn the worst in America; and, in the words of President Eisenhower, to “never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion”. To celebrate Thomas Paine is to recognize American patriotism in its purest form. On July 4, 2008 his legacy could not be any more relevant.
“Dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expressions of patriotism.” – Barack Obama
Notes
[1] Nelson, Craig, Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations
[2] Fleming, Thomas, Liberty! The American Revolution, p. 369
[3] Keyssar, Alexander, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States p. 10
Comments
8 Responses to “Happy 4th: History’s Hit Job on Thomas Paine”
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Mmm! Interesting. I only heard that name in passing a couple of times in conjunction with the signatories to the declaration. I only developed a small awareness of who he was from a recent post.
I will surely seek to broaden my over standing of him and his views. Thanks for the information.
Happy 4th Ya’ll
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-anthem4-2008jul04,0,978616.story
Rene Marie, warrior. I love this!
Thanks for the history lesson MODI! Amazing how much is buried away not for consumption.
Great article MODI. I’m always amazed at the difference in quality when I come over here from a mainstream news site, and this is just another example of that. Keep it up man!
KevDog:
That’s called INFILTRATION. Of course no one died as has happened when “whites” infiltrate Black groups, but some old ideas are certainly at the cemetary. Thanks for the link.
By the way, the author of the 1 national anthem (thanks Barack - didn’t know that) was slave holder and son of Maryland Francis Scott Key.
MODI:
Great work on Paine. It just goes to show that folks really do know - but choose not to show. You have to know just enough to keep the lies flowing like Blood River.
Modi, Good info on Paine. He did not just talk the talk, but he walk the walk, unlike many of his contempories who was filled with hot air.
“The founders weren’t “men of their times” at all: They were REVOLUTIONARIES! “Men of their time” liked to sip tea, not throw it overboard. Their chosen specialty was freedom fighting. Besides that, Jefferson’s writings and Washington’s freeing of his own slaves at death offer a pretty good clue about their actual belief systems vs. their actual actions. ”
Gwashington did not free his enslaved upon his death. His stipulated in his will that the enslaved be free upon Martha’s death. I believe at the time of GW death only his personal slave was freed, all the others were kept in servitude to his wife. Between he and his wife they had appx 300, so to free one upon gw death is not worth mentioning, but gives you a great clue as to what he actually believed in. Involuntary servitude!
“Their chosen specialty was freedom fighting.”
I beg to differ. A few years later when Haiti was fight for their liberation from france, GW chose to support france and the wealthy plantation owners of Haiti. So his freedom fighting was limited to the 13 colonies.
On thomas jefferson, I’m still trying to figure out what this guy did for the masses. I know what he did for rich, land owning white men. Really, what did he do for the disenfranchised?
All them guys, thomas jefferson, gwashington, henry clay (give me liberty or give me death ?) they all shrink in comparison to Thomas Paine.
– Thanks folks and thanks for the link KD…
Imhotep, thanks for the correction on Washington. It seems that my facts were wrong. Of course, if GW wanted slaves freed after Martha’s death, it still speaks the same about his belief system that he was fully cognizant of his crimes.
Also, I think that your Haiti point actually supports my main in that “freedom-fighting” on the part of Founders was quite selective. The “freedom fighter” point was only to distinguish their very cognizant political mindset from your average white colonial Joe Schmoe who might not go to war over “taxation without representation”.