No other eighteenth-century journalist or editor had the same transcontinental experience and length of career as William Duane. He did not remain within the geographical confines of most eighteenth-century people. He was a ‘Citizen of the World’, a title justified by his attachment to democracy across the globe and his composite national identity. Thomas Paine's concept of world citizen was multilayered and complex in origin. Five originating elements tie in closely with Duane's own background. The first element to Paine's ‘Citizen of the World’ is the Enlightenment, in particular critiques of orthodox Christianity: Duane is ‘Citizen of the World’ as a Deist. Thomas Paine was steeped in Commonwealth-man and Lockean ideology: Duane is ‘Citizen of the World’ as an inheritor of concepts of ‘English Liberties’ and Radical Whig ideology. Thomas Paine's political thought went through the crucible of the American War of Independence: Duane is ‘Citizen of the World’ as a supporter of this war. Thomas Paine was a controversial essayist on behalf of the French Revolution: Duane is ‘Citizen of the World’ as a supporter of international republicanism and revolution in Europe. Thomas Paine was deeply antagonistic towards British imperialism: Duane is ‘Citizen of the World’ because he came to detest the British Empire. The five elements to Paine's ‘Citizen of the World’ can be equated to the narrative of Duane's life. They were what shaped his political outlook in America. Duane was to translate his political ideology into a deep commitment to Jeffersonian Republicanism and the United States of America. He sought to shape America according to his Painite democratic republicanism: in Duane's eyes to be an American citizen was to be a ‘Citizen of the World’. In America, Duane fought against more exclusivist versions of American identity. Having achieved American citizenship and contributed to American politics, he was to become bitter as he watched the Republican political elite reward its own while rejecting foreign radicals who had sacrificed more.