Pasadena’s Thomas Paine Society to Present Paine’s Crucial Role in the Making of the Declaration of Independence

Thomas Paine was one of America’s most influential advocates for independence. He is best remembered as author of “Common Sense,” a famous pamphlet published in 1776 which helped inspire American Colonies to declare independence and immediately sever all ties with the British monarchy.

The Pasadena-based Thomas Paine Society will highlight Paine’s crucial role on the Declaration of Independence in a presentation at the historic Castle Green at 99 S. Raymond Avenue, this Sunday, July 2, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. as the nation nears Independence Day.

In “Common Sense,” Paine argued that Americans had a unique opportunity to change the course of history by creating a new sort of government in which people were free and had the power to rule themselves. 

The tract, first published in Philadelphia, was literally revolutionary in its time and had a profound impact on the American population, swaying public sentiment towards independence.

“I’ll be presenting original documents and those kinds of things that show the different parts that he played and some of the mystery surrounding the declaration, et cetera,” Alain Lowell, Executive Director of the Society, said. 

“We’re going to go through that and enlighten people about how it (Declaration of Independence) was written, why it was written, and the details within it. And for the most part, we’re going to explain how Thomas Paine was extremely important in the creation of that document.”

Lowell said that every Fourth of July, people celebrate the Declaration of Independence, but some are ignorant as to what it really contains as well as Paine’s role in the crafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Founded in 1993 to educate the public about Paine’s vital role in the American Revolution, Thomas Paine Society believes the public should know the contributions of Paine, whom the organization regard as an “extremely important figure.” 

“His words and his actions really represent the ideals that we hold dear that are written into the Declaration of Independence,” said Lowell.

“So he’s one of those people that should be held up as an example of moral character, trustworthy, honest… those kinds of things.”

According to Lowell, the presentation is based on the research that the organization is doing for a documentary  about the Declaration  of Independence and Paine.

Donations of $10 are encouraged for attendees. Proceeds will go to the production of the documentary.

“We’re hoping that we’ll get some donations toward the making of the documentary, which we’ve been working on for about a year now. And this will peak the interest of people to know more about their own history.”

To get tickets, visit: https://www.thomaspainesociety.org/donate