The Legacy of Thomas Paine in the Transatlantic World

As early as 1892, Moncure Conway, the author of the first scholarly Paine biography, noted that whilst Paine’s life up to 1809 was certainly fascinating, his subsequent life – that is, his afterlife – was even more thrilling. Vilified by Theodore Roosevelt as a "filthy little atheist," yet employed by Ronald Reagan in his campaign to make America "great again," Paine’s words and ideas have been both celebrated and dismissed by generations of politicians and presidents. An Englishman by birt...