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1997 SESSION

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HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 35 Designating January 29th as Thomas Paine Day in Virginia.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 14, 1997

WHEREAS, Thomas Paine, a leader of the American Revolution, one of the Founding Fathers, and peer of Washington, Madison, Franklin, and Jefferson, was also one of the most brilliant political philosophers of his time; and

WHEREAS, the author of the inflammatory Common Sense and the inspirational Crisis series, Thomas Paine also wrote treatises on slavery, the equality of women, and human rights; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man, a seminal work written during the French Revolution, formed the very basis for the republican form of government and was one of the most widely circulated books in America during the 1790s; and

WHEREAS, the originality of Thomas Paine's ideas, and his inimitable flair in expressing them, made him one of the most popular, most influential, and most enduring heroes of the American Revolution; and

WHEREAS, of Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin once wrote: "Others can rule, many can fight, but only Thomas Paine can write for us the English tongue"; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That January 29th of each year be designated as Thomas Paine Day in Virginia, in honor of Thomas Paine's indelible contributions to liberty; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the House of Delegates urge the citizens of Virginia to take note of this day, named in honor of one of the most important, most passionate, and most brilliant men in American history.