French Revolution: Thomas Paine “The Rights of Man”

Here we get classical romantic era political theory rhetoric. To sum it up it is overly strong language that emphases free will as well as a need for your fellow man. This is the same era as social contract theory that Locke and Hobbs wrote about. At the time of this piece the Jacobeans were in power in France. This rule by terror was a freighting time in history as it seemed that no one was truly safe. The Jacobeans stood against everything that the French revolution of 1789 was about or the subsequent 1848 rebellion for that matter. Paine though is writing a response to Mr. Burke’s assessment of the French revolution. Paine wants to show that there is a need for reform in France that extended beyond King Louis XVI. There were issues with the church and parliament. In some ways this is a recounting of Paine’s more famous work Common Sense. Here it appears that Paine is now writing for the defense of the French citizen as opposed to the American citizenry. Paine shows his belief of government by the people in his defense of the French revolution. The belief in this lies that Declaration of Independence “that these truths are to be held self evident that all men are created equal.” This doctrine dominated the era. This is what helped strip King George III his power and the English parliament to truly become a force to be reckoned with. It also laid the groundwork for the revolutions that took place all throughout Europe in the mid 1800’s. Paine’s defense of the rights of man is based in equality. This belief fueled the flames of rebellion which lead to the want for a free and equal society.