The American Revolution was heavy influenced by the French Revolution in fact france gave birth to nationalism, citizenship, and inalienable rights after america one of the lesser known fathers of america Thomas Paine the English pamphleteer, radical revolutionary, inventor, and intellectual studied the french revolution and had many trips to france He, as a man among the poor, wrote and spoke about the boiling, burning issues of the day; he opposed slavery; he opposed capital punishment; he opposed kings and much of organized religion with equal vigor. During the French Revolution, he spoke out against the execution of Louis XVI, and earned himself a date with the guillotine. By chance, he survived, until the cold lawyer, Robespierre was beheaded, and in the euphoria of that event Paine, and other political prisoners, were freed. He never forgave his fellow American rebels, Washington, nor Governor Morris (then U.S. representative to Paris), for not lifting a finger to help him during his wait for the guillotine. He would write a bitter *Letter to Washington* (1796) where he accused him of treachery and incompetence:
And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship (for so you have been to me, and that in the day of danger) and hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.
Remembering Thomas Paine: The Forgotten Founding Father - Mumia Abu jamal
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