An easy-to-understand adaptation of Paine’s revolutionary pamphlet, plus insights on colonial history, life, and culture. The Declaration of Independence may have severed political bonds with England, but it was Thomas Paine’s dynamic pamphlet, “Common Sense,” that conceptualized the idea of unity and freedom months before Thomas Jefferson put pen to parchment. Paine’s publication energized colonists to embark on a long and bloody war that imperiled their livelihoods and dismantled their cultural identity—all in the hope of creating a new nation constructed upon the concepts of liberty and independence. Although many know of Tom Paine and his famous “Common Sense,” the historic pamphlet has not been readily accessible or widely read. But it needs to be, because it is one of our nation’s most important founding documents. Now, fifth-grade history teacher Mark Wilensky rectifies this oversight with The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine: An Interactive Adaptation for All Ages. This remarkable interactive version is adapted for young and old alike and makes Paine's words and the concepts he espoused widely available to everyone. This book offers a rich array of colonial history sprinkled with audio, video, and text graphics linked to a dynamic online website. This adaptation includes the original “Common Sense,” a new adapted version in plain language everyone can understand today, an extensive chronology of important pre-revolutionary events leading up to the publication of Paine’s pamphlet, and adapted versions of the Olive Branch Petition, A Proclamation For Suppressing Rebellion And Sedition, and the Boston Port Act. Wilensky also includes a wide variety of insights on colonial coins and mercantilism, and many humorous illustrations designed to convey the important concepts of independence and liberty. Instructors and parents will especially appreciate Wilensky's decision to include supplementary materials such as teaching plans for classroom and home-schooling use. These include a wide variety of activities to engage students, all based on National Curriculum Standards. Colonial America was a continent with multiple cultures and customs spanning vast geographic distances. Tom Paine's amazing persuasive essay “Common Sense” unified these seemingly conflicting characteristics into the most remarkable nation ever founded in the history of mankind. The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine will reignite the ardor of our Founding Fathers for a new generation.

"Includes complete text of Thomas Paine's Common sense"--Cover.

From New York Times bestselling author and Founding Fathers' biographer Harlow Giles Unger comes the astonishing biography of the man whose pen set America ablaze, inspiring its revolution, and whose ideas about reason and religion continue to try men's souls. Thomas Paine's words were like no others in history: they leaped off the page, inspiring readers to change their lives, their governments, their kings, and even their gods. In an age when spoken and written words were the only forms of communication, Paine's aroused men to action like no one else. The most widely read political writer of his generation, he proved to be more than a century ahead of his time, conceiving and demanding unheard-of social reforms that are now integral elements of modern republican societies. Among them were government subsidies for the poor, universal housing and education, pre- and post-natal care for women, and universal social security. An Englishman who emigrated to the American colonies, he formed close friendships with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and his ideas helped shape the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. However, the world turned against Paine in his later years. While his earlier works, Common Sense and Rights of Man, attacked the political and social status quo here on earth, The Age of Reason attacked the status quo of the hereafter. Former friends shunned him, and the man America had hailed as the muse of the American Revolution died alone and forgotten. Packed with action and intrigue, soldiers and spies, politics and perfidy, Unger's Thomas Paine is a much-needed new look at a defining figure.

This book studies the concept of a 'self-evident' God in American legal thought from the Revolution to the present.

A fresh new look at the Enlightenment intellectual who became the most controversial of America's founding fathers Despite his being a founder of both the United States and the French Republic, the creator of the phrase "United States of America," and the author of Common Sense, Thomas Paine is the least well known of America's founding fathers. This edifying biography by Craig Nelson traces Paine's path from his years as a London mechanic, through his emergence as the voice of revolutionary fervor on two continents, to his final days in the throes of dementia. By acquainting us as never before with this complex and combative genius, Nelson rescues a giant from obscurity-and gives us a fascinating work of history.