This is the third in a series.
Today in the age of the internet they are called influencers, trying to sway the public on everything from buying clothes and cosmetics to supporting political candidates. In the 1770s there was a different title: “agitator.”
One of the most famous of the era, Thomas Paine, would eventually live in Bordentown, N.J., but his story started in England, where he failed as a teacher, a tax collector and corset maker. Wikipedia described his early life.
“In spring 1774 he was again dismissed from the excise service for being absent from his post without permission.
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