Question 1

True or false: Paine was buried in Westminster Abbey alongside other British luminaries.

Accepted Answer

False. Paine was denied burial in Westminster Abbey due to his radical religious views; his remains were later lost.

Question 2

True or false: Paine wrote 'Common Sense' in 1776, which sold over 500,000 copies in its first year.

Accepted Answer

True. 'Common Sense' was a massive bestseller, reaching an estimated 500,000 copies in a population of about 2.5 million.

Question 3

True or false: Paine died a wealthy man, with his writings earning him a substantial estate.

Accepted Answer

False. Paine died in near poverty in New York City in 1809, with only a few people attending his funeral.

Question 4

True or false: Thomas Paine was a skilled corset maker before becoming a political writer.

Accepted Answer

True. Paine apprenticed as a staymaker (corset maker) in England, a trade he practiced for years before his political career.

Question 5

True or false: Paine's book 'The Age of Reason' argued for deism, not atheism.

Accepted Answer

True. 'The Age of Reason' promoted deism—belief in a creator based on reason—and criticized organized religion, not atheism.

Question 6

True or false: Thomas Paine invented the first iron bridge in the United States.

Accepted Answer

False. Paine designed a single-arch iron bridge, but it was never built in the U.S.; a version was constructed in England.

Question 7

True or false: Paine was an honorary citizen of France and served in the French National Convention.

Accepted Answer

True. France made him an honorary citizen in 1792, and he was elected to the National Convention, though he later fell out of favor.

Question 8

True or false: Paine was a close personal friend of George Washington throughout the Revolutionary War.

Accepted Answer

False. Paine and Washington had a falling out after Paine criticized Washington in an open letter; they were not close friends.

Thomas Paine Trivia Questions