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Thomas Paine was born on January 29,1737 in Thetford, England
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His father had grand vivsion for him, but by the age of 12 Thomas failed out of school
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He began apprenticing his father, but that didn't last long. So at age 19 he went to sea.
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His advenyure at sea didn't last too long and by 1768 he came came back from sea and became a tax officer in England
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After being fired twice in four years, Paine published "The Case Of The Officers Of Exercise" arguing for a pay raise for officers
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He met Ben Franklin in London by accident. Franklin help him emigrate to Philadelphia
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He became a very popular journalist in Philadelphia
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Paine published Common Sense which brought a strong defense for America's independence from England.
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The same year he joined the Continental Army but wasn't very successful as a soldier.
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But, instead of continuing to help the Revolutionary cause, he returned to Europe and pursued other ventures.
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He wrote the book "The Rights of Man" in response to criticism of the French Revolution.
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Although a supporter of the French Revolution, in 1793, he was imprisoned in France for not endorsing the execution of Louis XVI.
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During his imprisonment, he wrote and distributed the first part of what was to become his most famous work at the time, the anti-church text, "The Age of Reason"
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He was freed in 1794 thanks to the efforts of James Monroe, then U.S. Minister to France.
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Paine remained in France until 1802 when he returned to America on an invitation from Thomas Jefferson.
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There Paine would discover that his contributions to the American Revolution had been all but eradicated due to his religious views. Derided by the public and abandoned by his friends.
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Paine died at 59 Grove Street in Greenwich Village, New York City, on June 8, 1809.