Thomas Paine, Champion of Freedom (OLLI)

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, a rabble-rousing pamphlet arguing for America’s independence from England, sold more than 500,000 copies. But its author was soon sidelined, deprived of his rightful role in the creation of the United States. This three-session course will cover Paine’s history, including his childhood and careers in England, his revolutionary activities in America and France, his friendships with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, as well as his role in the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase. In the process, it will affirm Paine’s well-deserved place among the Founding Fathers and demonstrate why his words, championing human freedom, are as relevant as ever in these “times that try men’s souls.”