Thomas Paine, James Monroe, and the Reign of Terror

Portrait of Thomas Paine, circa 1792, by Laurent Dabos. Public Domain

Thomas Paine, the author of the 1776 pamphlets “The American Crisis” and “Common Sense” that helped motivate the colonists to continue the fight for independence, found himself in prison for treason. He was not held in an American or British prison, but rather a French prison in Paris.

Paine was not known to be reserved in his thoughts, readily jotting them down and publishing them, much to the chagrin of those in power. The prolific and radical republican writer had hardly settled on the shores of America before he began advocating separation from the British monarchy during the American Revolution.

With the revolutionary war over, Paine returned to England in 1787. Three years later, he began a famous politically intellectual duel against conservative parliamentarian Edmund Burke with the outbreak of the French Revolution. When Burke published his “Reflections on the Revolution in France” in November of 1790, Paine responded with his “Rights of Man” in March of 1791.

Thomas Paine, author of the "Rights of Man," from John Baxter's "Impartial History of England," 1796. Das48/CC BY-SA 4.0

Cited for Sedition

Paine’s statements were too outrageous to be tolerated by Parliament and the monarchy. The king issued a royal proclamation in May 1792 against “divers wicked and seditious Writings … tending to excite Tumult and Disorder.” By the end of the year, Paine was on trial for libel as “a person of a wicked, malicious, and seditious disposition; and wishing to introduce disorder and confusion, and to cause it to be believed, that the Crown of this kingdom was contrary to the rights of the inhabitants of this kingdom.” By this time, however, Paine was in France and the trial would have to be held without him. Indeed, the trial was held, and, indeed, he was found guilty.

Paine arrived in France to a hero’s welcome with the First French Republic providing him honorary citizenship. He was granted a seat in the National Convention and was appointed to the committee charged with drafting a new constitution. Just as Paine had been esteemed and given citizenship in America, he was treated equally so in France. That is until the radical Jacobins seized power behind the likes of Maximilien Robespierre, who launched the Reign of Terror in September of 1793.

Morris assisted Thomas Paine several times in his life. Portrait of Gouverneur Morris, 1817, by Exta Ames. Public Domain

On the Wrong End of Revolution

Paine had advocated for the collapse and removal of the monarchy, but he disagreed vehemently against regicide and the use of the guillotine. Shortly after speaking in favor of sparing the life of King Louis XVI, Paine was arrested in the early morning hours of Dec. 28, 1793 on charges of being a “foreign conspirator.” He would soon be next in line for the guillotine.

Paine was thrown in prison. This prison, however, was quite different than any other prison. It was called Luxembourg Prison, but before that it was called Palais du Luxembourg, and had been a residence for the Royal Family. (When Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as emperor, he had the prison renovated to house the first senators in 1804.)

During his time in prison, he continued to work on “The Age of Reason.” He also wrote letters to Gouverneur Morris, who was America’s minister to France, pleading for his release. He requested his letters be sent to President George Washington. Paine’s radicalism had complicated their once-friendly relationship.

Morris had warned Paine of going too far politically. Those warnings indeed reflected Washington’s beliefs, but those warnings went unheeded. The disconnect between Washington and Paine was made obvious when he dedicated his radical work “The Rights of Man” to Washington. The president either felt he could not or decided he would not assist in Paine’s plight.

Monroe Arrives

Morris had assisted numerous French nobles in escaping the guillotine. He had tried to save the king and Marie Antoinette, but to no avail. The new French government demanded the U.S. government recall him as minister to France. Washington finally acquiesced and appointed James Monroe to replace him in hopes of stabilizing American-French relations. Monroe was tabbed for this duty in the spring of 1794 and set sail for France with his family in June.

A portrait of James Monroe, circa 1819, by Samuel Finley Breese Morse. The White House Historical Association. Public Domain

The month of July brought Paine good news in two forms: Morris had been replaced by Monroe, which gave him hope of release; and Robespierre had been sent to the guillotine, which gave him hope that he would not be sent to it.

Three days after Paine was thrown in prison, Thomas Jefferson resigned his position as Washington’s Secretary of State. He was replaced by Edmund Randolph on Jan. 2, 1794. After several months in France, Monroe received a letter from Randolph on Nov. 2 informing him to protect innocent Americans who had been charged with crimes. Assuming this specifically meant Paine, Monroe immediately began negotiating the author’s release.

Now dealing with a less radical government, it was during this week in history, Nov. 4, 1794, that Monroe obtained the release of Paine from prison. After almost a year in prison, Paine, nearing 60 years old, was now weak and ill. Paine moved in with the Monroe family to recuperate and while there he completed the second part of “The Age of Reason.”

A portrait of Edmund Jennings Randolph, 1943, by Casimir Gregory Stapko (after Flavius J. Fisher, after the original by an unidentified artist). Public Domain

Bitter at Washington

The author was still embittered toward Washington, and, as he had always done, he wrote and published his thoughts. It began with “As censure is but awkwardly softened by apology, I shall offer you no apology for this letter. The eventful crisis to which your double politics have conducted the affairs of your country requires an investigation uncramped by ceremony.”

The man who had done so much for the American Revolution and the French Revolution, and had written so prolifically about freedom and equality had now practically written himself into isolation. His published letter, much like his “Age of Reason,” was not well received in America (the latter for religious reasons).

“Tom Paynes Letter to the President has greatly Served the cause of Liberty and Religion,” Abigail Adams wrote sarcastically to her son and future president, John Quincy Adams. “[E]ven the Jacobins are ashamed of him. [H]e is considerd as an apostate an out cast. like Cain there is a Mark sit upon him. [H]e is accursed on the Earth.”

Paine remained in France until the end of the First Republic (1792–1802), and returned to America in 1802. Unlike his arrival in France, he disembarked to very little fanfare. Despite his tirade against Washington, Congress, at the behest of Washington, provided him a farm in New Rochelle, New York, where he lived the rest of his days. When he died in 1809, only six people attended the funeral. The brilliant and influential man had, just as Morris had warned, gone too far and alienated all those who knew him.

A Very Odd Ending

A portrait of William Cobbett, circa 1831, possibly by George Cooke. National Portrait Gallery, London. Public Domain

Ten years later, Paine’s bones were dug up and stolen by William Cobbett, an English journalist and once bitter enemy of Paine. Cobbett had a change of heart about democracy, and henceforth Paine, and became enthralled with the writer. His plan was to rebury him in England, a place where he would be loved and admired. Cobbett, however, proved delusional, and England disinterested. Ultimately, Cobbett was unable to afford to bury Paine nor was he able to find people interested in donating to his cause. Paine’s bones have now been effectively lost to history with people claiming to have parts of him all over the world.

Though Paine’s body may have no official resting place, his work continues to live on.

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