Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word

Every time I see this book title, my mind breaks into song, singing Angelica’s section from The Schuyler Sisters from Hamilton: I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine, so men say that I’m intense or I’m insane, you want a revolution? I want a revelation, so listen to my declaration: We hold these truths to be self-evident That all men are created equal. And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’ma compel him to include women in the sequel.

Anywho, the Dangerous Word is…independence.  And Thomas Paine found he had a gift for moving people to action through his writing.  He could see the results when he wrote about better pay and working conditions for tax collectors; the injustice of slavery (shortly after his writing, the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society was formed); and most famously the publication of the pamphlet titled Common Sense which was written in common language so that everyone could access the big ideas within its pages.  As a result, the colonists in America felt empowered to demand what was right.  Sarah Jane Marsh includes an author’s note elaborating on what happened to Thomas Paine.  His life was filled with ups and downs.  Marsh also includes a timeline and bibliography.  Edwin Fotheringham’s illustrative style emphasizes many of Paine’s dangerous words and the words that moved him to action as well.

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Title: Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word

Author: Sarah Jane Marsh

Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

ISBN: 978-148478144-9

Published 2018 by Disney Hyperion

This book was received from the publisher for purposes of review.