Thomas Paine (1737- 1809) was an English-American political activist, philosopher, author, political theorist and revolutionary. As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. His ideas reflected Enlightenment-era rhetoric of transnational human rights. He has been called "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination". In this book: The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. I The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. II The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. III The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. IV The age of reason