Paine is actually an odd choice for modern Americans to celebrate as a Revolutionary symbol. He was an Englishman born and bred; better put, an Englishman in exile. When Common Sense was published in January 1776, he had been in Philadelphia for little more than a year. He had arrived with a letter of introduction from Franklin, which landed him a job editing the Pennsylvania Magazine; or American Monthly Museum, a venture committed to everything American, despite its unmistakable London design and English editor. Adding to the irony of the situation, he had been an exciseman in England, and
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That is, in large part, likely due to the fact that hardly anybody actually knows much about Thomas Paine beyond what they vaguely remember from middle school social studies or high school history classes. I can say I didn't learn anything about Paine's background, and even Common Sense wasn't read, only explained as a famous pamphlet that stirred popular support for the Revolution. Like 95+% of the US public, I've never actually read Common Sense. When when barely amounts to a biographical sketch is known about someone, it's very easy to lionize or demonize them and attribute to them whatever one pleases. It's hardly surprising that such has happened with Paine and Common Sense.
