"Who Is Thomas Paine?" with Margaret Downey

Unreasonable

Happy Thomas Paine Day! June 8, also known as Freethinkers Day, celebrates one of leading lights of the American Revolution that hardly anyone knows anything about.
His writings ignited our independence; laid out the structure for a new democracy; articulated the rights of all men and women, young and old; envisioned the safety net we now call Social Security; decried slavery and, above all, called for a separation of church and state. A deist himself, he understood that although religious devotion is a right, it should have no influence on the body politic.
It’s time America gave Thomas Paine his due. David and Christina learn all about who Thomas Paine was, and why his work is more relevant today than ever before, as they speak with Margaret Downey, founder of the Thomas Paine Memorial Association.

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Now follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Threads. And please consider becoming a Patreon supporter at www.patreon.com/podcastunreasonable. It's a small price to pay to help keep America from becoming a theocracy, dontchya think?