Other
Common Sense Complete Text
Text of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense." Click onto introduction for full text or if you are looking for a specific section, then click onto the heading.
Other
Biographies: Thomas Paine
Detailed biography of the American revolutionary writer and thinker Thomas Paine. Includes discussion of the influence of his writing on international affairs.
Other
Media Vision Voices: Meet Thomas Paine
Read an extensive biography of 18th century political writer Thomas Paine, click to read about his ideas placed in a contemporary context, and use research links to read more online.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Thomas Paine
Brief biography regarding Revolutionary War writer Thomas Paine.
C-SPAN
C Span American Writers: Thomas Paine
Read about Thomas Paine's revolutionary publication "Common Sense" of 1776. Be sure to click on 'featured place' and 'classroom resources' for more facts and information about Paine.
C-SPAN
American Writers: Thomas Paine
An informational site on Thomas Paine. Includes general information about his life, works, and writings, including Common Sense and The Age of Reason. Also includes links to other sites.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Thomas Paine: The Radical Founding Father
Learn about Thomas Paine through text that accompanies selections from an exhibition of portraits of Paine and artifacts from his writings
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Read about the rhetorical touches Thomas Paine employed in his pamphlet, Common Sense, which galvanized colonial thought about actually breaking away from Mother England.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: E Pluribus Unum
The fact that the Second Continental Congress convened was evidence that the colonists had had enough from the British Parliament. Read about the ways the colonies finally began to work together and focus on a common plan, resulting in...
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was a major figure during the early years of the American Revolution. One of the foremost propagandists for American liberty in the 1770s, Paine penned words that rallied the war-weary spirit of the colonists and that still...
Internet Infidels
Thomas Paine: Essays
Selected full texts of Paine's Age of Reason, The Rights of Man, as well as lesser known writings on religious themes, slavery, and the like.
BBC
Bbc History: Thomas Paine
Professor John Belchem, of the University of Liverpool, writes this scholarly profile of Thomas Paine for BBC History. In it he describes the tenor and impact of Paine's writings and explains the significance of Paine's thinking on the...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Timeline of American Literature 1750 1799
Timeline of the social, political, and literary history of Colonial America and the United States, from 1750 to 1799. Contains information about writers of the period, along with portraits and links to related websites.
Other
Secular Humanism: Thomas Paine
The Secular Humanism site looks at Thomas Paine and his political philosophy based in deist thought.
Other
Wired.com: The Age of Paine
An article from Wired Magazine describing Paine's use of the media to support the Revolution and comparing it to use of modern media such as TV, radio and the Internet.
East of England Broadband Network
E2 Bn: History's Heroes: Thomas Paine
This unit will give pupils added insights into the late Georgian period of English history, together with the American and French Revolutions. This section provides lesson ideas, activities and downloadable resources for teachers related...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Age of Atlantic Revolutions
The American Revolution fomented change throughout the trans-Atlantic area. Read about the revolution's influence on the French and their overthrowing of their king, and the slave revolt which brought about the second republic in the New...
East of England Broadband Network
History's Heroes: Thomas Paine (1737 1809)
This website explores the lives of people who made their mark on history. Features illustrated story and timeline on Thomas Paine. Find out who he was, what he did, his achievements, and his legacy.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason shaped philosophical, political, and scientific discourse from the late 17th to the early 19th century. This article traces the Enlightenment back to its roots in the aftermath of the Civil War, and...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Common Sense,independence
Discussion of comparison and contrast of Declaration of Independence and Common Sense. If you click the "documents" link in the sidebar, you can also access the text of Common Sense.
Other
Object of History: Rallying Revolutionaries: "Common Sense"
Annotated excerpts from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" that clearly demonstrate the writer's ability to persuade his American readers to separate from England.
Other
Media Visions: Meet Thomas Paine, a Visionary Revolutionist
This biographical article discusses Thomas Paine (1737-1809), English writer and social activist, who is best known for his popular essay, Common Sense, the pivotal call for American independence and democracy.
Other
Positive Atheism: The Philosophy of Paine
This site displays the text as delivered by Thomas A. Edison about the philosophies of Thomas Paine (1737-1809 CE). According to Edison, Paine is one of the great members of society who was never recognized for his outstanding achievements.