PAINE, THOMAS

Paine, Thomas: translation

(1737–1809)

English political theorist and activist. Born in Thetford, Norfolk, Paine emigrated to America in 1774, where he met Franklin . His pamphletCommon Sense(1776) was the first public call for American independence.The Rights of Man(1791–2) was a response to Burke'sReflections on the Revolution in France, in which Paine affirms basically Lockean principles of democracy and liberty against Burke's conservative attack on the revolution. Paine had a brief success in France, but narrowly escaped being guillotined (he credited his escape to divine providence), and returned to America where he died in relative obscurity.