The American Crisis · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The American Crisis by Thomas Paine.
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Thomas Paine
major
Also known as Paine, whither Paine
Paine is the narrator and engine of The American Crisis, a man who traded private profit for the cause of independence and claimed he was made an author by America itself. His tension is between the patience a fractured, wavering public demands and his own impatience with compromise, cowardice, and the Tories who wish only for 'peace in my day.' He matters because his pen is the instrument that turns despair into resolve at the war's darkest hour.
America
major
Also known as the Americans, The Americans
America in these pages is a collective character: a people Paine addresses directly, flatters, scolds, and pleads with as a single soul. Its defining tension is between local loyalties and a national identity, between the comfort of reconciliation and the harder road of independence. It matters because the entire arc of the Crisis depends on whether this character can hold its sentiment together long enough to win.
Britain
major
Also known as England, the English
Britain appears here as a collective antagonist: the crown, the ministry, and the commissioners who offer terms while plotting seduction. Paine's portrait is of a power 'forever changing and forever wrong,' too distant to understand America and too proud to foresee its own decline. It matters because the Crisis needs a villain whose bad faith justifies irrevocable separation.
George Washington
supporting
Also known as Washington, General Washington, a Washington
Washington is the steady hand of the Revolution, the general whose perseverance Paine holds up as proof that the cause is not lost even when the army is dissolving. His tension is with rivals and schemers — Gates's victory at Saratoga bred a quiet movement to replace him — and with the endless retreats that test his soldiers' faith. He matters because Paine's words were written to be read aloud to his freezing, dwindling troops.
Sir William Howe
supporting
Also known as Howe, General Howe, Sir William Howe, Sir William
Howe commands the king's forces in America and, in Paine's telling, is deceived by the Tories even as he deceives them — expecting thousands to flock to his standard with muskets shouldered. His flaw is a kind of overconfident calculation: he stakes everything on taking Philadelphia, and Paine argues that even success there cannot win the continent. He matters because his campaign is the immediate military threat the early Crisis numbers are written to answer.
Lord Howe
supporting
Also known as Howe
Lord Howe is both naval commander and would-be negotiator, empowered to quiet the colonies by treaty if he cannot by force. His tension is that his commission depends on Americans believing his terms are generous, while Paine insists they are a trap designed to divide and disarm. He matters because his peace overtures force the Crisis to argue that negotiation itself is the greater danger.
General Burgoyne
supporting
Also known as Burgoyne, General Burgoyne
Burgoyne never speaks in these pages, yet his defeat haunts every argument Paine makes about what the American army might achieve. Paine uses him as a rhetorical weapon: if Burgoyne's captured army could force Howe into winter quarters, then the same fate awaits any British commander who underestimates colonial resolve. He matters because his shadow turns Saratoga from a single battle into a template for how the war might be won.
Silas Deane
supporting
Also known as Silas Deane
Deane operates in the diplomatic shadows, securing French support while his loyalty is questioned by political rivals back home. Paine treats his defense as a test of whether Americans will honor those who serve abroad or devour them with suspicion. His predicament reveals how revolutionary politics could turn on its own agents, making personal reputation a battleground as dangerous as any field.
Benjamin Franklin
supporting
Also known as Franklin, Dr. Franklin
Franklin represents the Revolution's most credible voice abroad, a man whose scientific fame and political cunning opened French coffers and hearts. Paine invokes him as evidence that America's cause attracts the best minds, not mere agitators. His presence in the narrative reassures readers that independence is not a reckless gamble but a project endorsed by the wisest men of the age.
Lord North
supporting
Also known as Lord North
North never appears directly, but his ministry's decisions frame every grievance Paine catalogues. He embodies the distant, unaccountable power that Americans rejected, a minister whose tax acts and coercive measures turned loyal subjects into revolutionaries. Paine uses him as a foil: every argument for independence gains force by contrast with the government North represents.
Congress
supporting
Also known as Congress
Congress is less a character than a chorus, its resolutions and proclamations echoing through Paine's arguments as evidence that Americans have built legitimate authority. Paine worries about its weakness, its dependence on state cooperation, and the petty factionalism that threatens unity. Yet he insists that Congress, however imperfect, represents something unprecedented: a government deriving its power from the governed, answerable to them alone.
Lord Shelburne
minor
Also known as Lord Shelburne
British statesman and peace negotiator, addressed by Paine.
General Gage
minor
Also known as General Gage, Gage
British commander in Boston early in the war.
General Conway
minor
Also known as General Conway, Conway, Henry Seymour Conway
British general and politician, criticized by Paine.
Cornwallis
minor
Also known as Cornwallis
British general who surrendered at Yorktown.
George the Third
minor
Also known as George the Third
King of Britain, blamed for tyranny against the colonies.
Lord Chatham
minor
Also known as Lord Chatham
British statesman who sympathized with American grievances.
General Gates
minor
Also known as General Gates
American general who defeated Burgoyne at Saratoga.
Dr. Price
minor
Also known as Dr. Price, The Rev. Dr. Price
British clergyman and supporter of American independence.
The Quakers
minor
Also known as the Quakers, Quakers
Religious group opposed to war, rebuked by Paine for neutrality.
Tories
minor
Also known as Tories, the Tories, The Tories, Tory
American colonists loyal to Britain, denounced as traitors.
Hessians
minor
Also known as Hessians, the Hessians
German mercenaries hired by Britain to fight in America.
Providence
minor
Also known as Providence
Divine force invoked as guiding American cause.
Captain Asgill
minor
Also known as Asgill, young Asgill
British prisoner of war whose life was spared by Congress.
General Clinton
minor
Also known as General Clinton, Sir Harry Clinton, Sir Henry Clinton, General Sir Henry Clinton
British commander-in-chief in America later in the war.
Lord Sheffield
minor
Also known as Lord Sheffield
British peer and writer on trade, rebutted by Paine.
Mr. Grenville
minor
Also known as Mr. Grenville
British politician associated with the Stamp Act.
John Pemberton
minor
Also known as John Pemberton, John
Quaker leader criticized for pacifist stance during war.
William Eden
minor
Also known as William Eden, Eden
British peace commissioner to America, addressed by Paine.
George Johnston
minor
Also known as George Johnston, Johnston
British naval officer and politician mentioned in context of war.
General Carleton
minor
Also known as General Carleton, Carleton
British governor of Canada during the war.
Sir John Dalrymple
minor
Also known as Sir John Dalrymple
British historian and pamphleteer criticized by Paine.
