A serious thought

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In his newspaper article A Serious Thought , the state theorist Thomas Paine first pleaded for the separation of the British colonies in North America from their mother country. The article appeared in the Pennsylvania Journal on October 18, 1775 under the pen name Humanus. At that time the American War of Independence was already underway. In this book, Paine describes the past and present atrocities of British colonial policy and takes the view that God will separate America from Britain. In this article, Paine formulates the first ideas that found their way into the Declaration of Independence , which was passed almost six months later, on July 4, 1776 .

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In his article "A Serious Thought", Paine first describes Britain's indebted atrocities in East India. He writes of famine, oppressed natives, and principles sacrificed for luxury. All of this and more leads Paine to believe that God has pity on those poor people and will rob Britain of her power.

But not only distant countries like East India are affected. The East Indies are currently being exploited, but the same has been happening since the discovery of America by the colonists there. Paine also describes how terrible he believes human trafficking is and accuses the mother country of abducting and enslaving the ignorant natives of Africa every year.

There is no doubt in his mind that God plans to separate America from Britain because of the myriad of atrocious acts Britain has committed herself. When the detachment from the motherland has taken place, the colonists according to Paine should both stop the trafficking in human beings out of gratitude and release the people who have already been enslaved.

Importance and Impact

With the pseudonym Humanus, Paine appeals to the humanity of the colonists and tries to win them over to his idea of ​​separating the colonies from the motherland. He also addresses the cruelty of Britain in the East Indies, the deportation and enslavement of the natives of Africa and the exploitation of the colonies through taxes and levies.

In the course of the increase in duties and taxes around 1763 after the end of the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, the colonists became increasingly aware of their exploitation by the British motherland. Britain tried to offset the war debt incurred by taxes from the North American colonies. Due to this consistent exploitation and the high taxation without the authorization to send a member of parliament to London, the rejection of British politics on the part of the colonists grew steadily. The colonists protested against various tax increases under the premise of " no taxation without representation ". A reconciliation with the mother country was nevertheless considered possible. It was only after the first military confrontation on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord that Paine came to the conclusion that a continuation of relations with the motherland was no longer possible. He presents this for the first time in his article A serious thought .

In the course of his article, Paine develops an informed opinion and a vision for the time after the war grows in his mind. A vision of a new, independent state with a free, democratic constitution and basic civil rights. Paine calls for the abolition of slavery and the liberation of those already enslaved. However, he could not implement this proposal and did not pursue it, because the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America of July 4, 1776 guaranteed the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness, but these rights were only valid for white, Anglo-Saxon men . This omission was not corrected until a hundred years later in the wake of the US Civil War .

In general, Paine is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the United States of America and, through the publication of his ideas, played an important role in the formulation of the Declaration of Independence, a document that laid the foundation for radical political upheaval around the world.

literature

  • Joseph M. Hentz: The Real Thomas Paine. Bloomington 2010.
  • Brian McCartin: Thomas Paine: Giving Cause for America and Freedom to Mankind. In: Elsie Begler (Ed.): Thomas Paine. Common Sense for the Modern Era. San Diego 2007, pp. 60-76.
  • Edward Larkin: Thomas Paine and the Literature of Revolution. Cambridge 2005.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Paine was a rebel and world changer. In: Die Welt , June 7, 2009.