Thomas Paine Last Will

Read this free copy of the Last Will of Thomas Paine (1737-1809).

Thomas Paine was a radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who is probably best known for writing the pamphlet "Common Sense", advocating America's independence from Great Britain, and for his book The Age of Reason which promotes reason and free thinking and argues against institutionalized religion.

Paine was deeply involved in the early stages of the French Revolution. Despite not speaking French, he was elected to the French National Convention in 1792. The Girondists regarded him as an ally, so, the Montagnards, especially Robespierre, regarded him as an enemy. In December of 1793, he was arrested and imprisoned in Paris, then released in 1794. Paine remained in France during the early Napoleonic era, but condemned Napoleon's dictatorship, calling him "the completest charlatan that ever existed".

In 1802, at President Jefferson's invitation, he returned to America where he died on June 8, 1809. Only six people attended his funeral as he had been ostracized for his attacks of Christianity.

Source of information: Wikipedia.org