Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
REVOLUTIONARY AND EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD LITERATURE
but that the example which ye have unwisely set, of mingling religion with politics,
may be disavowed and reprobated by every inhabitant of AMERICA.
3.8.2 Reading and Review Questions
1. How does Paine present himself in Common Sense? In other words,
what is his persona? What sort of relationship does his persona seem to
have with the intended audience? Why?
2. Why, and to what eect, do you think Paine uses religious language and
scriptural authority?
3. How does Paine use logic? As a logician, is his argument fallible or
convincing? Why, either way?
4. How does Paine use emotions, or sensibility, and aections? How and on
what terms does he use emotions to represent the Revolution?
5. What benets does Paine point to in perfect equality among humankind?
Why?
3.9 THOMAS JEFFERSON
(1743–1826)
Following the tenets of the Enlightenment,
Thomas Jeerson’s mind
ranged amid such disparate elds of
knowledge as law, philosophy, government,
architecture, education, religion,
science, and agriculture. Jefferson
acquired understanding of law and
government through the works of
others—including Sir Isaac Newton
(1643–1727), the classic republican
theorist James Harrington (1611–1677),
political philosopher Thomas Hobbes
(1588–1679), Locke, and enlightenment
writer Voltaire (1694–1778). Later, his
library, comprising thousands of books,
served as the foundation for the Library
of Congress. He put this understanding
to practical use in his public life devoted
to the American democracy, delineating
through his writing a clear and fair social
contract that protects the rights of the individual.
Image 3.11 | Thomas Jefferson
Artist | Rembrandt Peale
Source | Wikimedia Commons
License | Public Domain
Page | 479