Thomas Paine Archives - Granite Grok

OPINION: No Paine, No Declaration

July 7, 2026 George Ford Smith

On July 4, 2026, Americans celebrated various people for their roles in founding this country. We can start with Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin, Henry, and continue debating into the night. Somewhere on the list would be Paine—Robert Treat Paine, a Harvard graduate and signer of the Declaration. And, grudgingly for some, another Paine but … Read more

History: The Failure to Stop Thomas Paine

July 9, 2025June 6, 2025 George Ford Smith

The United States, formerly these united colonies, is preparing for its 250th anniversary of its break-up from that era’s “Great Satan” by reminding us of what brought it about, such as the Battle of Lexington and Concord and subsequent battles of 1775, along with issues that preceded them. In spite of all the bloodshed and fiery tavern rhetoric, most … Read more

A Rallying Cry That Changed History

December 22, 2024 Michael Boldin

On December 19, 1776, as the War for Independence stood on the brink of collapse, Thomas Paine published The American Crisis. Beginning with the immortal line of “THESE are the times that try men’s souls,” it was no mere essay – it was a rallying cry that turned despair into victory. The Crisis was written to inspire a weary … Read more

Common Sense: A Scathing Attack on Unlimited, Centralized Power

January 10, 2023 Op-Ed

January 10, 1776. Today in history, Thomas Paine published the first edition of Common Sense – a 47-page pamphlet that defended and inspired the cause of independence like no other. (check out this podcast on Common Sense here) Leading historians have called it one of the “most brilliant ever written in the English language.”

Resistance is Crucial to the Advancement of Liberty

August 11, 2022 Op-Ed

Patrick Henry told us that “government is no more than a choice among evils.”

Thomas Paine held the same view. In Common Sense, he wrote, “Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

The Founders Predicted our Economic Crisis

June 30, 2022 Op-Ed

Did Thomas Jefferson call the economic crisis? “Every thing predicted by the enemies of banks, in the beginning, is now coming to pass. we are to be ruined now by the deluge of bank paper as we were formerly by the old Continental paper.” That’s from a letter to Thomas Cooper in January 1814. And … Read more

Notable Quote – Thomas Paine

June 9, 2018November 15, 2012 Skip

Another thought worth remembering; Thomas Paine wrote in his Revolutionary pamphlet, The American Crisis: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” … Read more