Thomas Paine was mis-understood in his lifetime; still is.
He didn't want to profit from his writing.
But his pamphet "Common Sense" was given to George Washinton's troops before a crucial move against the British.
And that it inspired the win.
The love for our American ideal, the American spirit.
So his spirit inspired the win!
He was a man who believed in God and in the soul 's eternal existance, but was shunned because he wasn't a member of a Christian Church. He was a free thinker.
It' s claimed he accepted Christ on his deadbed, per the testimony of his nurse.
But that's unknown.
Idiot people, including POTUS' of the past claimed he was an atheist, which he was not.