Foreword
Preface
A Note on the Texts
PART I. INTRODUCTION: THOMAS PAINE'S AMERICA
Young Tom Paine
Growing Up
Excise Man
Passages
Slavery
British Army
Marriage
Common Sense
Publication and Circulation
Equality
Biblical Authority
The Economy of Freedom
Intellectual Influences
Propaganda
The Forester
Radical Politics
The American Crisis
Thomas Paine's Future
PART TWO. DOCUMENTS
African Slavery in America, 1774
A Serious Thought, October 18, 1775
A Dialogue between General Wolfe and General Gage in a Wood Near Boston, January 4, 1775
Thoughts on Defensive War, July 1775
Reflections on Unhappy Marriages, June 1775
Common Sense, January 10, 1776
The Forester, Number 1, 1776
The American Crisis, Number 1, December 19, 1776
APPENDIXES
A Thomas Paine Chronology
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index