Rights of Man (Annotated)

Written by famed political theorist Thomas Paine, Rights of Man argues that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its citizens. It defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke’s attack in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), and is considered a classic statement of faith and egalitarianism.

By using plain language and a reasoned style, Paine chose to forego the philosophical and Latin references made popular by the Enlightenment era writers. As a result, he united average citizens and political leaders behind the central idea of providing social security for workers, public employment for those in need of work, abolition of laws limiting wages, and other social reforms. As one of the best-selling titles of all time, Rights of Man was widely read by reformers, Protestant dissenters, democrats, London craftsmen, and the skilled factory-hands of the industrial north.