Tom Paine
Writer and Revolutionary
By Jill Scholey
18th Jan 2012
In 1777, Paine was appointed Secretary to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, not without opposition from his critics .
However, this was the first official recognition of Paine’s might as a political writer.
In the autumn of 1777 another British attack came at the Battle of Brandywine.
Over a thousand Americans were killed or wounded.
Even as the British were advancing, Paine was busy scribbling the fourth America Crisis paper and paid for the publication out of his own pocket.
Although the paper advocated fearlessness, it was not enough to keep the Philadelphia citizens from fleeing. Paine soon realised that he must either flee or face death.
Paine was now homeless and under constant threat.
He rode along back roads, and witnessed much fighting and bloodshed.
Paine seemed loved and hated in equal measure, not least because he spoke out against corruption. In one such incident, a man named Silas Deane was caught profiteering from the selling of arms.
Paine’s public scorn of Deane and others was viewed by some as being damaging to Congress, and events eventually led to Paine’s resignation.
In 1779, Paine became Clerk to the Assembly.
This enabled him to contribute more substantially to the anti-slavery legislation of the time.
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