THOMAS PAINE AND THE LITERATURE OF REVOLUTION; ED. BY EDWARD LARKIN

Thomas Paine has been celebrated for his role in persuading the American colonists to revolt against Britain and declare their independence. At the same time, however, scholars have generally dismissed his writings as propaganda. This book demonstrates that Paine was a skilled and sophisticated writer and thinker who transformed political literature in the late eighteenth century by creating a new literature of politics that bridged political philosophy and the everyday, common-sensical knowledge of ordinary people. The impact of this new political language would be remarkable as it energized a mass public to participate in the arena of politics, an arena from which they had been excluded. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 11 Introduction......Page 13 1 Inventing an American Public: The Pennsylvania Magazine and Revolutionary American Political Discourse......Page 34 the rise of the magazine......Page 37 the pennsylvania magazine......Page 44 political fables......Page 52 becoming american......Page 55 2 “Could the Wolf Bleat Like the Lamb?”: Paine’s Critique of the Early American Public Sphere......Page 61 disputing common sense......Page 63 franklin's diffidence and paine's direct style......Page 72 losing credit, or the effect of the deane affair......Page 79 making it personal: “the letter to george washington”......Page 88 discovering the limits of the public sphere......Page 94 3 Writing Revolutionary History......Page 98 origins, history, and politics......Page 100 impartiality, historiography, and the lessons of the past......Page 104 the letter to raynal......Page 107 the letter to raynal as letter......Page 110 history or literary criticism......Page 114 rights of man, or the letter to edmund burke?......Page 117 history and/or historiography......Page 123 4 The Science of Revolution: Technological Metaphors and Scientific Methodology in Rights of Man and The Age of Reason......Page 126 becoming a man of science......Page 129 technology, commerce, and the rights of man......Page 132 the age of reason: substituting science for religion......Page 145 the true revelation......Page 152 nature tamed......Page 156 5 “Strong Friends and Violent Enemies”: The Historical Construction of Thomas Paine through the Nineteenth Century......Page 161 the death of a radical......Page 164 inventing a radical's life......Page 168 english radical reformers and the rehabilitation of paine......Page 175 recovering paine's reputation in the united states......Page 185 political writing and american literary history......Page 188 Epilogue: Paine and Nineteenth-Century American Literary History......Page 191 whitman and paine's popular image......Page 194 billy budd and the interpretation of the revolution......Page 196 Works Cited......Page 207 Index......Page 215 The American School Of Empire Considers How An American Idea Of Empire Evolved In The 1790s And Would Shape And Be Shaped By The Literature And Art Of The Early Us. Hamilton's Introductory Essay Suggests That Empire Was As Important To The Foundation Of The Us As Concepts Like Democracy, Freedom, Nation, And Republic. This Book Thus Begins From The Premise That The History Of Empire In The United States Can Be Traced Back To The Inception Of The Country, If Not Earlier. It Contends That The United States Was Conceived As An Empire, Culturally, Politically, And Legally. Empire, As A Broad Theory For Organizing Not Only The State But Also The Understanding Of Difference And The Relationship To Space, In Other Words, Was A Crucial Conceptual Frame Shaping The Culture Of The Early Us--provided By Publisher. Inventing An American Public : The Pennsylvania Magazine And Revolutionary American Political Discourse -- Could The Wolf Bleat Like The Lamb : Paine's Critique Of The Early American Public Sphere -- Writing Revolutionary History -- The Science Of Revolution : Technological Metaphors And Scientific Methodology In Rights Of Man And The Age Of Reason -- Strong Friends And Violent Enemies : The Historical Construction Of Thomas Paine Through The Nineteenth Century -- Paine And Nineteenth Century American Literary History. Edward Larkin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 195-201) And Index. Although the impact of works such as Common Sense and The Rights of Man has led historians to study Thomas Paine's role in the American Revolution and political scientists to evaluate his contributions to political theory, scholars have tacitly agreed not to treat him as a literary figure. This book not only redresses this omission, but also demonstrates that Paine's literary sensibility is particularly evident in the very texts that confirmed his importance as a theorist. And yet, because of this association with the'masses', Paine is often dismissed as a mere propagandist. Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution recovers Paine as a transatlantic popular intellectual who would translate the major political theories of the eighteenth century into a language that was accessible and appealing to ordinary citizens on both sides of the Atlantic. Although the impact of works such as Common Sense and The Rights of Man has led historians to study Thomas Paine's role in the American Revolution and political scientists to evaluate his contributions to political theory, scholars have tacitly agreed not to treat him as a literary figure. This book not only redresses this omission, but also demonstrates that Paine's literary sensibility is particularly evident in the very texts that confirmed his importance as a theorist. And yet, because of this association with the 'masses', Paine is often dismissed as a mere propagandist. Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution recovers Paine as a transatlantic popular intellectual who would translate the major political theories of the eighteenth century into a language that was accessible and appealing to ordinary citizens on both sides of the Atlantic Forty-five years after the Revolution, in an 1821 letter to a friend, Thomas Jefferson commented on the remarkable literary skills of his old friend and sometime political ally, Thomas Paine: "No writer has exceeded Paine in ease and familiarity of style, in perspicuity of expression, happiness of elucidation, and in simple and unassuming language."