Thomas Paine was a major influence of the American Revolution. He came to America in 1774. His pamphlet "Common Sense" sparked debate and excited the people to revolt.

If Thomas Paine had only written about political things, he would have been honored as a bold friend of human liberty. "These are the times that try men's souls," is the famous opening sentence of The Crisis, which he wrote while he was a soldier in George Washington's army. He also wrote Common Sense and Rights of Man. But it was The Age of Reason, which was a very bad attack on Jesus and the Bible, that made him the most famous at the time. [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" @ www.utm.edu]

Paine did not keep any...