Podcast
Brushfires of the Mind: The Dave Benner Show
Dave Benner’s video series for George Washington’s Presidency (1789-1797).
In every way, the Critical Period (1780-1789) was a crossroads for the early American Republic.
Many people know Paine as the author of Common Sense, The Crisis, and The Rights of Man. Fewer know him as an unapologetic opponent of slavery, paper money, and aristocratic privilege. Fewer still know he spent considerable time in both England and France – escaping death sentences in both countries – and finally returned to America in 1802.
Some may not realize that Thomas Paine once developed an obsession for a radical military strategy to invade England.
In Thomas Paine’s day, no idea was more accepted than the idea that the church was inextricably connected to the state. Even so, Paine argued the rigid bond between religion and state was a dire mistake for civilization.