Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: “In America THE LAW IS KING.”
Acton Memorial Library Meeting Room (1st floor) 486 Main Street, Acton, MA, United StatesThis lecture will commemorate the 250th anniversary of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. The presenter is Greg Jarboe, who studied Comparative Colonial History at the University of Edinburgh. Greg will explore how Paine's 46-page pamphlet transformed American sentiment from seeking reconciliation with the British Crown to demanding independence by dismantling assumptions about monarchy. He’ll connect this ideological revolution to Acton's military role, tracing how local Minutemen evolved from defending their "rights as Englishmen" to fighting for an independent republic during the Siege of Boston. Jarboe, who is an Acton Exchange reporter and Finance Committee member, will also examine the tension between