Thomas Jefferson And Thomas Paine: Organized Religion

Two of the most important pieces of work in pre-revolution America were Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,”speech. The two writings were very effective with the points they addressed and their eventual outcome. However, the two patriots each used different tones. Patrick Henry used a fiery, yet passionate tone, Thomas Paine used a sarcastic, formal tone. In the end though, it was Patrick Henry’s tone which proved to be more effective in swaying American colonists towards independence.

Thomas Jefferson believed in nationhood but not the modern idea of state, he agreed more with the celebration of society over government. He never accepted the modern idea of states , which there could be no power independent of the people, in whom he had absolute faith. Thomas Jefferson and other Revolutionary leaders believed international affairs was equivalent to affection among people in domestic

The main similarity in the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Henry David Thoreau is the idea of revolution against an abusive government. The main difference is the context in which each document was written, the Declaration of Independence as the colonies were rebelling against Great Britain and forming their own government, and Civil Disobedience as criticisms of the government developed within nearly seventy-five years after the signing of the Declaration. Both Jefferson and Thoreau share ideas of revolution, although overthrowing the government is seen in many cases as illegal. Both documents share a common theme of revolution, and both authors believe the best way to move toward a better government is civil disobedience. Jefferson and Thoreau believe that whether it is the struggle for independence or being freed from injustices of the government, civil disobedience and revolution are necessary in order to live in a society based on freedom.

Thomas Paine was one of the best known political philosopher and pamphleteer back during the 18th century. “Common Sense” was the first published pamphlet that proclaimed the independence of America and one of his most famous piece of work. How did Thomas Paine influence the declaration of independence by writing “Common Sense”? “Common Sense” convinced a great amount of moderates to become patriots, additionally, some loyalist were persuaded by his writing. Also, he was able to express his feelings and wrote in a way that people commonly spoke. Thomas Paine had successfully contributed to the declaration of independence and his 47-page pamphlet, “Common Sense”, impacted numerous Americans.

The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense may have more in common than you think. Thomas Jefferson was a well educated man with a background in law. He attended the Second Continental Congress where he wrote The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Paine was a great writer and was the editor of the Pennsylvania Magazine. Paine was strong in his beliefs and wrote Common Sense. The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense are two well known documents that share remarkably similar ideals regarding the ongoing crisis in America, but they also have some differences.

Compare the backgrounds of Jefferson and Paine; did Paine have an advantage or disadvantage by not being born in the colonies? Explain.

John Locke was a philosopher, and political scientist. He believed democracy was a considerably better form of government than a monarchy. Thomas Jefferson was the third U.S. president, and was one of America’s founding fathers. He was the author of the Declaration of Independence, and played a key role in the institution of the United States of America. John Locke was a very influential person when it came to Thomas Jefferson and the ideas within the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Paine essentially wrote Common Sense for the common man. Being a pamphlet, its structure and simplicity made reading easy for those who were literate. Its minimalism enabled citizens in the colonies to unite under one common cause — independence against Britain. He was inspired by both John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government as well as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s On the Social Contract. Each of the philosophies discussed the purpose of government as well as which government was the most ideal. For Paine, government, is “a punisher,” in which society is ruled by in order to protect the properties of one’s natural rights (Paine 3). However, he defends a representative democracy as being the ideal. Likewise, John Locke also argues that governments protect the rights of man. Similarly, to

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine are both considered to be founding fathers of the United States of America despite the fact that they both came from different backgrounds. Thomas Paine was born in Norfolk England, the son of Quaker and left school early to become his father’s apprentice. Thomas Jefferson was born in Colonial America in the colony of Virginia to a wealthy planter father and a mother from a distinguished family. He was given an extraordinary education and attended college earning a degree in law. As a young man Thomas Paine traveled in England constantly, working and pursuing many different ventures before emigrating to America in 1774. Thomas Jefferson was a scholar, constantly in pursuit of knowledge and inherited considerable wealth from his parents in Virginia. Both men shared similar ideals

John Locke believed in life, liberty, and property and Thomas Jefferson believed in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You can already see they had both had the same view point , they both believed in democracy, the people had the right to overthrow a government if they feel like if there are abusing their rights since they are supposed to protect the people’s rights, and they both believed all men were created equal. The differences they had were that John Locke believed people had the right to happiness, believed the separation of powers through legislative and executive branches, and believed in the privacy for people’s personal affairs. While Thomas Jefferson believed people had the right for happiness, he also referred the government

Common Sense was an important stepping stone towards independence. Thomas Paine was a person who advocated and supported egalitarian principles. He believed that all people are equal and deserved equal rights and opportunities. Thomas goal was to influence to people in the Thirteen Colonies to stand for independence from Great Britain. The thirteen colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America. The thirteen colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Caroline, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

During the 18th Century the United States Constitution was written and the majority of the Founding Fathers were religiously associated with either Christianity or Deism. What greatly differed these two religions was that Christianity’s doctrine stated that God created the universe and actively is in control of it. On the other hand the Deists denied the Trinity and believed that God created the universe, and then left it to run it’s course. Aside from this, the Deists received their sense of God and morality from nature instead of the Bible.

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander are two of many great leaders, that helped shape the United States. Although these men were both great figures, they had opposing views to each other concerning the central and state governments.

Thomas Paine disagrees with the British government and the way they handling business he encouraged Americas to declare their independence. The Declaration of independence was a documented created by Thomas Jefferson that announced the split from the colonies and Great Britain, it. The Declaration of Independence states “we hold these…all men are created equal...with certain unalienable rights...that when any form of government becomes destructive...It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it (Jefferson, 1776)”.

Thomas Jefferson desired a democracy where governmental decisions would not be affected by religious beliefs and biased views of the situation. Thomas Jefferson viewed separation of church and state here is some of his insight on the topic, “...legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, ' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties” (Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists). Jefferson became the sole author for the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which became the the most important religious separationist papers of the 1700’s. Jefferson’s ideas and writings for separation of church and state helped to form the American Enlightenment period, and to further his ideals based upon his