Note i-331 — INTRODUCTION (continued 2)

Ibid., VII, 23. No dull sidelight on the quality of Franklin's radicalism during this period is the fact that he brought Thomas Paine to the colonies and was partly responsible for the writing of Common Sense. It is alleged that Franklin considered Paine "his adopted political son" (cited in M. D. Conway's Life of Thomas Paine, 3d ed., New York, 1893, II, 468). For explication of Paine's political theories see C. E. Merriam, "Political Theories of Thomas Paine," Political Science Quarterly, XIV, 389-403.