On January 6: The Wisdom of Thomas Paine

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

We have no definitive proof that the opening line of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “The American Crisis,” published in the deepest dark of the American Revolution, directly inspired George Washington and his troops to cross the Delaware, surprise the British at Trenton, and change the momentum of the war.

“The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country…”