An introduction to and analytical reconstruction of Thomas Paine's political philosophy and his account of human rights.

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. In this book, he demonstrates how Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the U.S.

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" is born from his need to defend social mutiny and it posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base Paine defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in Reflections on the Revolution in France. Paine argues that the interests of the monarch and his people are united, and insists that the French Revolution should be understood as one which attacks the despotic principles of the French monarchy, not the king himself. Principally, Rights of Man opposes the idea of hereditary government – the belief that dictatorial government is necessary, because of man's corrupt, essential nature. Rights of Man concludes in proposing practical reformations of English government: a written Constitution composed by a national assembly, in the American mould; the elimination of aristocratic titles, because democracy is incompatible with primogeniture. Thomas Paine's intellectual influence is perceptible in the two great political revolutions of the eighteenth century. He dedicated Rights of Man to George Washington and to the Marquis de Lafayette, acknowledging the importance of the American and the French revolutions in his formulating the principles of modern democratic governance. Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was an English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, he authored the two most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he inspired the rebels in 1776 to declare independence from Britain. Paine's ideas reflected Enlightenment-era rhetoric of transnational human rights.

Published to commemorate the bicentennial of Thomas Paine's death, these texts have remained two of the most influential arguments for liberty in political thought. Common Sense is a pamphlet that Paine wrote in support of American independence. Due to its original and simple style it spread like wildfire through the colonies, inspiring the American Revolution. The Rights of Man is Paine's passionate defense of the French Revolution that led to his trial for sedition and libel. The acclaimed historian Peter Linebaugh provides an original examination of Paine's thought and legacy.

J.C.D. Clark demythologizes the history of Thomas Paine, understanding the impact he has had on modern human rights, democracy, and internationalism.

An acclaimed portrait of Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the origins of modern conservatism and liberalism In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the roots of the left/right political divide in America by examining the views of the men who best represented each side at its origin: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. Striving to forge a new political path in the tumultuous age of the American and French revolutions, these two ideological titans sparred over moral and philosophical questions about the nature of political life and the best approach to social change: radical and swift, or gradual and incremental. The division they articulated continues to shape our political life today. Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the basis of our political order and Washington's acrimonious rifts today, The Great Debate offers a profound examination of what conservatism, progressivism, and the debate between them truly amount to.

Madison & Adams press presents to you this meticulously edited Thomas Paine collection, formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Common Sense The American Crisis The Rights of Man The Age of Reason The Republican Proclamation To the Authors of "Le Républicain" To the Abbé Sièyes To the Attorney General To Mr. Secretary Dundas Letters to Onslow Cranley To the Sheriff of the County of Sussex To Mr. Secretary Dundas Letter Addressed to the Addressers on the Late Proclamation Address to the People of France Anti-Monarchal Essay for the Use of New Republicans To the Attorney General, on the Prosecution against the Second Part On the Propriety of Bringing Louis XIV to Trial Reasons for Preserving the Life of Louis Capet Shall Louis XVI have Respite? Declaration of Rights Private Letters to Jefferson Letter to Danton A Citizen of America to the Citizens of Europe Appeal to the Convention The Memorial to Monroe Letter to George Washington Observations Dissertation on First Principles of Government The Constitution of 1795 The Decline and Fall of the English System of Finance Forgetfulness Agrarian Justice The Eighteenth Fructidor The Recall of Monroe Private Letter to President Jefferson Proposal that Louisiana be Purchased Thomas Paine to the Citizens of the United States To the French Inhabitants of Louisiana A Letter Addressed to the Abbe Raynal The Life of Thomas Paine by Moncure D. Conway

This concise, insightful study explores the sources and impact of one of the early republic's most influential minds. An Englishman by birth, an American by choice and necessity, Thomas Paine advocated ideas about rights, equality, democracy, and liberty that were far advanced beyond those of his American compatriots. His seminal works, Common Sense and the Rights of Man, were rallying cries for the American and French Revolutions. More than any other eighteenth-century political writer and activist, Paine defies easy categorization. A man of contrasts and contradictions, Paine was as much a believer in the power of reason as he was in a benevolent deity. He was at once liberal and conservative, a Quaker who was not a pacifist, and an inherently gifted writer who was convinced he was always right. Jack Fruchtman Jr. analyzes Paine's radical thought both in the context of his time and as a blueprint for the future development of republican government. His systematic approach identifies the themes of signal importance to Paine's political thought, demonstrating especially how crucial religion and God were to the development and expression of his political ideals.

Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, on the Following Interesting Subjects, viz.: I. Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution. II. Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. III. Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs. IV. Of the Present Ability of America, with some Miscellaneous Reflections