Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

For the day after Independence Day, I thought I would feature a man who was instrumental in building the momentum of the American Revoultion, but who often gets lost beside the glittering personalities of Washington and Jefferson. 

Thomas Paine was born in England in the late 1730's and came to America in 1774.  In 1776 he anonymously published a pamphlet called "Common Sense" which advocated independence.  Although the ideas Paine wrote about were not new ones, they were written in a more common style that made them easily understandable to everyday citizens.  Within a few months, more than 100,000 copies had been sold helping spark public debate and opinion regarding the need for independence from Great Britain. 

Following the war, Paine returned to London and became an advocate of the French Revolution.  His "Rights of Man" publication in 1792 got him indicted for libel and despite being granted honory French citizenship, he was arrested in late 1793.  Largely abandoned by the American government, Paine would spend nearly a year in prison and narrowly escape execution.  Shortly after the turn of the century, he returned to America.  He died in New York City in 1809.   This portait is by Matthew Pratt.