TPHA’s Leadership Transition
Lisa Burton, the new President of the Thomas Paine Historical Association as of July 1st, is a respected community leader in Westchester.
Thomas Paine National Historical Association history
Our collection of articles, records and reviews about Thomas Paine National Historical Association history.
Announcing Thomas Paine: Collected Writings
On June 30, 2026, Princeton University Press will publish Thomas Paine: Collected Writings, a six-volume scholarly edition of Paine’s works and correspondence.
A Sign for the Times: The Many Sides of the Paine Monument
In celebration of the 250th anniversary, a historic marker was recently placed at the Paine Monument adjacent to the TPHA Headquarters on North Avenue in New Rochelle, NY.
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The Comstock Act and 1900s Leadership of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association
When most founding members of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association no longer served on the TPNHA board, others joined the association and took active leadership roles. They reflected the founding philosophy and ideas that prevailed at the turn of the century.
The Comstock Act and the Founders of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association
Responding to assaults on civil liberties under the 1873 Comstock Act, freethinkers played central roles in the social reform movement opposing abuses of the rich and powerful in the Gilded Age. They were guided by Thomas Paine and Enlightenment Age ideals of democracy, equality and natural rights.
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The Comstock Act of 1873 and the Founding of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association
Starting in 1872 and completed in 1873, the Comstock Act brought the weapon of religion against these groups. It was named for Anthony Comstock, a zealous Christian anti-“vice”fanatic who was put in charge of using the Act against the democratic forces emerging.
Thomas Paine’s Political Influence on Me
By Barbara Crane My interest in Thomas Paine began when I moved to New Rochelle in 2016 after retirement from decades advancing women’s reproductive health, rights and justice around the world. My earlier academic work had focused on international politics and development, with special attention to the role and influence of transnational networks and policy
My Discovery and Love of Thomas Paine
An incorrigible Europhile for much of my youth, I was not terribly interested in Thomas Paine. The fact that Ronald Reagan was an admirer of Paine didn’t help either. But then I realized that to understand William Blake’s revolutionary sentiment, I had to read Rights of Man
Gilbert Vale and The Beacon
The Beacon, a freethought journal by Gilbert Vale (1788-1866) was a pivotal, influential social and political publication in the mid-19th century, publishing 587 issues from 1836 to 1851. In the mid-19th century, The Beacon helped to forge a movement against the age’s undemocratic forces.
Computer Text Analysis of Thomas Paine’s Writings
Calculations are objective, there is no room to introduce prejudices. Such a methodology to analyze text was developed by the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies: to make use of proven methods of comparing author features, they took these methods and combined them.
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TPNHA and the Comstock Act
Our Association was founded in 1884, and the founders were from various organizations, all of which were opposed to the Comstock Act. The Comstock Act was created to combat “obscenity”, dodging the idea that the Comstock Act was in itself obscene to democracy.
A History of Paine Birthday Events
When our Association was formed, it was on January 29, 1884, on Paine’s birthdate. The people involved had gathered every year on Paine’s birthdate, to meet at the Liberal Club in New York City.