The Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, or ITPS, is an academic center dedicated to the preservation, study and dissemination of the life, work and legacy of
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
, and is located on the campus of
Iona University
Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, New ...
in the city of
New Rochelle
New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...
in
Westchester County
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
,
New York. Thomas Paine was one of the founding fathers of the United States and the key political philosopher of the age of democratic revolutions. He was a resident of New Rochelle and lived on a farm just a short distance up North Avenue from the Iona University campus.
Established in 2013, the ITPS houses one of the world's unique Paine collections, including multiple first editions and early copies of his famous writings ''
Common Sense
''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arg ...
'', ''
Age of Reason'', and ''
Rights of Man
''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...
''. It also contains more than 100 texts, pamphlets, and letters written or published by Paine himself, as well as personal items.
Background
The Thomas Paine National Historical Association was established in New Rochelle in 1884. The contents of the Paine archive were assembled over a century by the association and kept in a safe within the Associations headquarters at the
Thomas Paine Museum. The responsibility for caring for the collection was too much for the organization however, which never had enough money to properly care for and protect the items it had amassed.
In the early 2000s, the group moved much of its collection to the
New York Historical Society in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Several years later, in an attempt to raise money, the group sold some of its artifacts.
In 2009, the association began collaborating with Iona, forming a partnership to permanently preserve its archive. Years of legal work ensued and in 2013 the state Supreme Court approved a petition transferring custody of the collection from the TPNHA to the college. The collection, now housed in Iona's Ryan Library, features personal effects of Paine that have survived the ages, a vast array of historical documents surrounding Paine, and a broad representation of his writings.
Thomas Paine National Historical Association Collection – Iona College
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See also
* Thomas Paine National Historical Association
References
External links
Thomas Paine National Historical Association
Thomas Paine Studies website
Catalogued items of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association – Iona University: Ryan Library
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History of New Rochelle, New York
Iona College
Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...
Thomas Paine