British socialist and author Mike Marqusee pays tribute to one of history’s great revolutionaries on the anniversary of his death 200 years ago.
Socialist Worker, June 11, 2009
Thomas Paine (Auguste Millière)
“THIS INTERMENT was a scene to affect and to wound any sensible heart. Contemplating who it was, what man it was, that we were committing to an obscure grave on an open and disregarded bit of land, I could not help but feel most acutely.”
The occasion for this lament was the sparsely attended funeral of Thomas Paine, who died 200 years ago in June 1809, at the age of 72, and was buried in the small farm he owned in what was then the rural hamlet of New Rochelle, 20 miles north of New York City.
Not long before, New Rochelle’s bigwigs had barred Paine from voting, claiming he was not a U.S. citizen. Paine, who had virtually invented the idea of U.S. citizenship, was furious.
But this was not the end of his indignities. When he sought a place to be buried, even the Quakers would not oblige him. Hence, the muted funeral of the man who had inspired and guided revolutions in North America and France–and equally important, the revolution that did not happen in Britain.
Continued >>
Tags: books, Britain, Christianity, France, North America, Paine's books, revolutions, Thomas Paine
This entry was posted on June 11, 2009 at 7:13 am and is filed under Commentary, Human rights, Uncategorized, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Propagandist of the American Revolution
British socialist and author Mike Marqusee pays tribute to one of history’s great revolutionaries on the anniversary of his death 200 years ago.
Socialist Worker, June 11, 2009
Thomas Paine (Auguste Millière)
“THIS INTERMENT was a scene to affect and to wound any sensible heart. Contemplating who it was, what man it was, that we were committing to an obscure grave on an open and disregarded bit of land, I could not help but feel most acutely.”
The occasion for this lament was the sparsely attended funeral of Thomas Paine, who died 200 years ago in June 1809, at the age of 72, and was buried in the small farm he owned in what was then the rural hamlet of New Rochelle, 20 miles north of New York City.
Not long before, New Rochelle’s bigwigs had barred Paine from voting, claiming he was not a U.S. citizen. Paine, who had virtually invented the idea of U.S. citizenship, was furious.
But this was not the end of his indignities. When he sought a place to be buried, even the Quakers would not oblige him. Hence, the muted funeral of the man who had inspired and guided revolutions in North America and France–and equally important, the revolution that did not happen in Britain.
Continued >>
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Tags: books, Britain, Christianity, France, North America, Paine's books, revolutions, Thomas Paine
This entry was posted on June 11, 2009 at 7:13 am and is filed under Commentary, Human rights, Uncategorized, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.