Paine, Republicanism, and the Bible: “Common Sense” as a Gospel of the American Revolution

Abstract

 Introduction: Thomas Paine was born in Thetford, England, into an atypical family. His father, Joseph, was a Quaker and artisan, and his mother, Frances, was an Anglican and the daughter of an attorney. Paine spent more than three and a half decades of his life as nothing more than one of many representatives of the English working class. With his departure to America, he became one of the key figures of the coming revolution and the author of the famous pamphlet through which he would shake the foundations of British imperialism and decisively oppose the principle of royal authority based on the foundations of the Bible.

 Aim: The aim is to analyse the relationship between Paine’s political persona, the republican principles he presents in Common Sense, and the Biblical text in a propaganda and ideological sense, in order to better understand the epochal importance of Paine’s political thought expressed in what is probably his most famous pamphlet.

 Materials and Methods: The primary literature used in this paper was Common Sense itself, as well as the Bible. In addition, several previously published biographies of Paine available to us were used to understand the life circumstances that led Paine to write his Common Sense. To better understand Paine’s political thought within the pamphlet, various literary, comparative literary, philosophical, and historical analyses were applied.

 Results: Despite different external influences, it can be stated that Paine’s political thought was authentic and unique. Through his unmatched style, Paine’s pamphlet became famous as a bestseller of its kind in America, but also throughout Europe. Although the biblical passages on Gideon and Samuel (Book of Judges and the First Book of Samuel) occupy a central place, Paine also refers to other Old Testament books such as Exodus and Genesis, and there are also traces of possible influence of New Testament thought on Paine.

 Conclusion: Paine combines the narrative of biblical condemnation of monarchy with the idea of American exceptionalism, thereby creating in his readers the perception of the American republican revolution as the only correct and also the only possible solution to the political crisis.