Thomas Paine’s Greatest Revolution: Nationality, Citizenship, and Civic Identity in America

Abstract Thomas Paine is widely known for galvanizing public opinion in favor of the cause of American independence; his trenchant critique of Edmund Burke and spirited affirmation of the “rights of man”; and his contribution to the development of republicanism during constitutional debates in France. Yet there has been less scholarly attention to what is arguably Paine’s greatest revolution: namely, his vision of the United States as a “civic nation” whose membership is determined by consent to shared republican principles. A closer examination of Paine’s life and political writings reveals the strengths as well as the weaknesses of this civic ideal.