Product Description
HOMAS PAINE, in his Will, speaks of this work as The American Crisis, remembering perhaps that a number of political pamphlets had appeared in London, 1775-1776, under general title of " The Crisis." By the blunder of an early English publisher of Paine's writings, one essay in the London " Crisis " was attributed to Paine, and the error has continued to cause confusion. This publisher was D. I. Eaton, who printed as the first number of Paine's " Crisis " an essay taken from the London publication. But his prefatory note says: " Since the printing of this book, the publisher is informed that No. 1, or first Crisis in this publication, is not one of the thirteen which Paine wrote, but a letter previous to them." Unfortunately this correction is sufficiently equivocal to leave on some minds the notion that Paine did write the letter in question, albeit not as a number of his " Crisis " ; especially as Eaton's editor unwarrantably appended the signature " C. S.," suggesting " Common Sense." There are, however, no such letters in the London essay, which is signed " Casca." It was published August , 1775, in the form of a letter to General Gage, in answer to his Proclamation concerning the affair at Lexington. It was certainly not written by Paine. It apologizes for the Americans for having, on April I9, at Lexington, made " an attack upon the King's troops from behind walls and lurking holes." The writer asks : " Have not the Americans been driven to this frenzy? Is it not common for an enemy to take every advantage ? " Paine, who was in America when the affair occurred at Lexington, would have promptly denounced Gage's story as a falsehood, but the facts known to every one in America were as yet not before the London writer. The English " Crisis " bears evidence throughout of having been written in London. It derived nothing from Paine, and he derived nothing from it, unless its title, and this is too obvious for its origin to require discussion. I have no doubt, however, that the title was suggested by the English publication, because Paine has followed its scheme in introducing a " Crisis Extraordinary." His work consists of thirteen numbers, and, in addition to these, a " Crisis Extraordinary "and a " Supernumerary Crisis." In some modern collections all of these have been serially numbered, and a brief newspaper article added, making sixteen numbers. But Paine, in his Will, speaks of the number as thirteen, wishing perhaps, in his characteristic way, to adhere to the number of the American Colonies, as he did in the thirteen ribs of his iron bridge. His enumeration is therefore followed in the present volume, and the numbers printed successively, although other writings intervened.



Download The American Crisis Now! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 5; Original Published by: V. Parke in 1908 in 377 pages; Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical; Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads of State; History / United States / General; History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800); History / United States / 19th Century; Political Science / General; Political Science / History & Theory; ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself
This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of the French Revolution.For Thomas Paine, the eighteenth century was the Age of Enlightenment because for the first time humankind was throwing off the millstones of religious dogmatism and political despotism.Paine essentially believed that the rights of man encompassed, "...all the intellectual rights, or rights of the mind, and also all those rights of acting as an individual for his own comfort and happiness, which are not injurious to the natural rights of others" (Paine, 68).

Paine's Rights of Man was an eloquent yet blistering rebuttal to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.Paine got right to the crux of the disagreement he had with Burke when he admonished him for his argument that governmental enactments of previous generations had the force and authority to bind citizens for all time.An example that Burke used was the English Parliament of 1688, which he praised as a model of the type of reform French citizens should emulate.Paine's answer was swift and cutting "Radical Enlightenment" reason."Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself, in all cases, as the ages and generations which preceded it.The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave, is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies" (41-42).Paine also took Burke to task for his narrow understanding of French socio-political and economic problems leading up to 1789.Unlike Burke, Paine understood that the French Revolution, unlike the others that took place in Europe, was not just a revolt against the king."Between the monarchy, the parliament, and the church, there was a rivalship of despotism, besides the feudal despotism operating locally, and the ministerial despotism operating everywhere" (48).Thus, what Paine witnessed, Alexis de Tocqueville and Georges Lefebvre observed, agreed with, and commented on, in their history's years later.The institutions that Burke defended in his Reflections, such as the nobility, Church, and monarchial rule, all became "fodder" for Paine's "grist mill" in his defense of France's new constitution.

Paine abhorred the institution of nobility and supported its dissolution for several reasons.
"Because the idea of hereditary legislation is as inconsistent...and absurd as an hereditary mathematician....Because it is continuing the uncivilized principle of governments founded in conquest, and the base idea of man having property over man, and governing him by personal right" (83).No friend to tradition, Paine took Burke to task for defending the notion of, "...hereditary rights, and hereditary succession, and that a Nation has not a right to form a Government for itself" (Paine, 116).Paine defended the French constitution's eradication of tithes to the Catholic Church and it "...hath abolished or renounced Toleration, and Intolerance also, hath established UNIVERSAL RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE" (85).Finally, Paine unleashed a most scathing attack against Burke's suggestion that France should reform its absolutist monarchy into a benign form of constitutional monarchy similar to what Britain enjoyed."All hereditary government is in its nature tyranny" (172)."It occasionally puts children over men, and the conceits of nonage over wisdom and experience.In short, we cannot conceive a more ridiculous figure of government, than hereditary succession" (173).

Thus, Paine's Radical Enlightenment polemic, which sold more than 200,000 copies throughout Europe, was his reasoned and articulate project towards developing a better world.Consequently, there is no doubt that Paine, whose Radical Enlightenment pen proved to be "mightier than the sword" of despotism both in the American and French Revolutions, understood the importance of the nurturing relationship that Enlightenment philosophes had on the French Revolution."But all those writings and many others had their weight; and by the different manner in which they treated the subject of government...by their moral maxims and systems of economy, readers of every class met with something to their taste" (Paine, 94).

Recommended reading for anyone interested in political philosophy, enlightenment history, and the French Revolution.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Serious, Scholarly Study
Dr. Blakmore's analysis of these political writings is very insightful.He uncovers the intertextual conflicts, in particular between Burke and Wollstonecraft, and provides an indepth literary analysis of both.Hisdiction is sofisticated, yet approachable to an average student of 18thCent. Literature.A must read for anyone interested in the politicalphilosophy of the Age of Englightment. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A Tale for Our Times
Though written about an 18th Century activist, Paine's revolutionary ideas remain very timely--as much so (or perhaps even more) today as in the past.Trevor Griffiths' work combines superb scholarship with an exciting narrative.With a presumption of this being of a historical,scholarly nature, I figured that this might be a dry pedantic read.Was I ever wrong!--The book is full of adventure, drama, passion, romance, and grit, with important ideas thrown into the mix.Though a screenplay, the book was edited in such a way that it reads like a novel--a novel that you cannot put down.

Timely Relevance
Those were the times, and, now, once again, these are times that try the soul. Fortunately, playwright and filmmaker, Trevor Griffiths, gives us a model to follow in These Are The Times; A Life of Thomas Paine, a play about how a seemingly ordinary person can do extraordinary things.That is Thomas Paine's philosophy, his life story, and his legacy.

For the folks who know about Thomas Paine (1737-1809), the enlightened philosopher of the American and French Revolutions, and the 18th century English revolution that did not take place, all the major aspects of Paine's adult life are included in Griffiths's epic tale.

Griffiths's screenplay, however, is not a documentary. Although rich with historical and multicultural detail, it is a highly innovative portrait of Thomas Paine, the person.Invented characters and incidents are added to help tell the story, to get to the essence of the life and times. The script begins in 1774 when Paine, aged 37, sails from England to America, and it continues across the time and space of a tumultuous era to his death in 1809 and beyond.Necessarily episodic, the fast-paced story, with its crisp dialogue and vivid images, is engrossing, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but ultimately insightful and inspiring.

Thomas Paine is a man with a vision of a better world for all people, and he has the courage to write and speak out for it.The scenes of These Are The Times are laced with Paine's words, including an occasional voice over the action, often Paine's voice, quoting a relevant passage from his work.

The Paine first introduced in These Are The Times is a man "on the edge of things"-ready to seek a new life in a place where an ordinary person might have opportunities.The ocean crossing shows him to be gentle and helpful to other passengers, ordinary people, like himself, in distress.In America, though, he sees some of the same disparity and hostility that he left in England between the rich, powerful, and privileged and the ordinary people.But he is an observer, a self-educated thinker, a truth seeker, and Philadelphia seems to be a place where he can express his radical ideas of liberty and equality and help make a new and different world.

As Paine begins to have an impact, however, the self-styled important people call him "a ruffian," "a mere adventurer from England."And, it's true that he is without fortune, family heritage, connections, or even proper grammar.He is also fiercely independent and without ambition for personal gain and status, so he will never be called a "gentleman."But he is confident of himself, at ease with the high and the low of society, with workers, soldiers, women, and children, as well as with ministers, generals, presidents.When necessary, he spares no contempt for the rich and powerful who are also corrupt, greedy, and ruthless.

Paine's primary foils are financier/lawyer Gouverneur Morris, Edmund Burke, and Richard Bache, who is Franklin's arrogant son-in-law.Each is appropriately despicable regarding Paine, believing that he interferes with "the natural order of things."

Griffiths's Paine is blunt, provocative, the "orneriest cuss" Franklin ever met, defiant to the end, but a man of principle, if occasionally shown to be an "innocent" in a harsh world.He is a warm, sensuous man, a loving and sexual man.

"Old Common Sense" never becomes part of the select ranks of the illustrious Founders, either during his lifetime or beyond.His modest station in life and his self-imposed observer-critic role help to keep him from high office, and his challenges to authority, whether state or church, create enemies who slander his name, suppress his ideas, and limit his influence.

Griffiths, though, in his screenplay demonstrates how Paine's life offers a window through which the larger issues may be seen.From the beginning, Paine becomes aware that a merchant/land-owning class dominates the colonies of the New World.There is little equality of opportunity.The noble intentions of freedom and democracy pronounced in the Declaration of Independence (and in the French Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen) are undermined by the ambitions and greed of those who have already grasped authority and who control the rest of society.The guiding ambition is still the accumulation of power and personal wealth for the few, not the promotion of the general welfare for the many.Paine sees betrayals of the revolutionary spirit and inconsistencies between stated ideals and pragmatic realities.The play, through Paine, challenges the official mythologies of history on both sides of the Atlantic.

Griffiths's play also reveals how relevant Paine's ideas are today.Paine speaks of a "brutal occupation," state terror to stop terrorism, the "strutting grandees of Congress," and rulers who may be monumentally incompetent, misuse power, and cause great harm.Paine is the embodiment of how ordinary people, though, who are well informed, can understand societal issues, can offer visionary solutions, and can become true participants in the democratic process and agents of their own destinies.Such people frighten and threaten the established order and must be slandered and, if possible, destroyed before they influence a deceived, distracted, and downtrodden populace.Paine warns, "A nation born in greed and graft and corruption will surely drown in them."

Yes, eventually the levees will break.Then, the bloggers (among whom Paine, a citizen of the world, would thrive today) will demand accountability from government hacks and corporate looters and will call for making the world anew.

These Are The Times is not a political pamphlet.It is a compelling biographical drama, a lively presentation of ideas that could actually inspire discussion and debate.If the barefoot soldiers of 1776, the sansculottes of Paris, and the early 19th century carpenters of Philadelphia can be seen as inspired by Paine's work to make another world for themselves, then these may be the times for us to pick up those ideas again for use against the tyrannies of our own day.


... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary.
++++
The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
++++
Cambridge University Library

T167513



[London] : Paris: printed by Hartley, Adlard and Son, London: reprinted for D. I. Eaton, 1796. 16p. ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description

"An interesting perspective on Paine as a `secular preacher.'... Drawing from a wide range of Paine's writings, Fruchtman explores three broad themes in Paine's writing: nature, action, and progress... It will be difficult to read Common Sense again without thinking of its masterly protagonist as homilist."--Albert H. Wurth, Jr., Journal of American History.

"No book in print does a better--or even comparable--job of laying out Paine's doctrine and tracing the web of his ideas."--Wilson Carey McWilliams, Rutgers University.

Product Description
Definitive, concise, and very interesting...From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Very Interesting People series includes the following titles: 1.William Shakespeare by Peter Holland 2. George Eliot by Rosemary Ashton 3. Charles Dickens by Michael Slater 4. Charles Darwin by Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne 5. Isaac Newton by Richard S.Westfall 6. Elizabeth I by Patrick Collinson 7. George III by John Cannon 8. Benjamin Disraeli by Jonathan Parry 9. Christopher Wren by Kerry Downes 10. John Ruskin by Robert Hewison 11. James Joyce by Bruce Stewart 12. John Milton by Gordon Campbell 13. Jane Austen by Marilyn Butler 14. Henry VIII by Eric Ives 15. Queen Victoria by K. D. Reynolds and H. C. G. Matthew 16. Winston Churchill by Paul Addison 17. Oliver Cromwell by John Morrill 18. Thomas Paine by Mark Philp 19. J. M. W.Turner by Luke Herrmann 20. William and Mary by Tony Claydon and W. A. Speck ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary.
++++
The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
++++
Bodleian Library (Oxford)

T167183



[London] : Paris: printed by Hartly, Adlard and Son. London: re-printed for T. Williams, 1796. 24p. ; 12° ... Read more

Product Description
This title has fewer than 24 printed text pages. Keep Your Shape is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Robert Sheckley is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Robert Sheckley then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description

The Author, J. T. Elias, grew up and wad educated in Wilkes Barre, PA, went to college at Loyola in Baltimore. He served as a gunner on a heavy bomber over Europe during World War II and was awarded the DFC, Purple Heart, Air Medal with five Oak Leaf Clusters. After the war he traveled all over the United States and Europe, married an Irish girl, worked on a railroad after giving up a business. His four children are scattered all over the U.S. and Spain, with four grandchildren to lure him to visit. He lives now in Nanticoke, PA, writing, playing poker, reading, visiting friends, and thinking. ... Read more