Rights Of Man Paine Analysis

In Thomas Paines excerpt describing America in 1971, he provides many key points explaining what America was then and it gives a great basis to compare to what it is now. He starts off explaining tthat America is a melting pot of people of all different nationalities and cultures, then he moves onto the civil unison of our government and people, and lastly he talks about taxes and the rich vs. the poor.

Thomas Paine’s characterization of America from his book, Rights of Man, does not completely hold true in today’s American society. His description of social class relationships as well as just government is currently not a reality for Americans. However, his description of diversity is something that we do have in America today.

America by far is the most diverse country on the face of the earth. America today is known for freedom, equality, democracy, and a defender against tyranny. The foundation of American values lay in a belief of independence, nationalism, capitalism, and religion. However, many conflicts have arisen over these values in the past. Capitalism and other characteristics have made America great, but they have brought about their own set of inequalities. Those inequalities have deep roots in race, culture, gender, and wealth. In the 1800s two of the biggest conflict lies with the issue of slavery and women’s rights.

All over the world, people hear about and strive to live the “American Dream.” In 1791 Thomas Paine, an intellectual revolutionary, believed that America was a diverse country that was accommodating for its people. In his book “Rights of Man” he says that in America “the poor are not oppressed, the rich are not privileged… and their taxes are few.” None of these ideals are completely true in America today.

Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and the Bill of Rights are three things that have some sort of connection. Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson both have documents. Their documents were both a result for the rule that Great Britain had over us. The Bill of Rights is also a piece where its writing had to do with a freedom type document written to let others feel free. Thomas Paine was one of the great supporters of the American Revolution. He was a journalist and used his utensils to get the public to break free from Great Britain. When Revolution against the British Empire came, Thomas Jefferson was not JUST ready. Before he wrote his main legendary contribution to the revolutionary cause, he wrote Summary View, the most important contribution to The Declaration of Independence. In 1791, the Bill of Rights, which included 10 amendments, was approved into the constitution. The document’s purpose was to make clear the rights of the people that the government could not trespass upon. These amendments logically became an important part of the original document, making them part of ‘The Supreme Law of the Land. Thomas Paine and Jefferson, as well as the bill of rights, all share a common theme.

That type of government in which he proposed was representative democracy. He introduces this idea by saying “LET the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal. Their business wholly, domestic, and subject to the authority of a Continental Congress.”(pg. 96) Paine is indicating that the American colonies must gain their independence and cut off ties from Britain. He provides counterarguments and rebuttals to show that his reasoning behind America gaining independence is valid and crucial. He challenges a particular assertion that he has heard by some which says “…America hath flourished under her former connexion with Great-Britain…the same connexion is necessary towards her future happiness.” He rebuts this counterargument by using an analogy of a child thriving on milk. Because the child has thrived on milk does not mean it should never have meat, he essentially says. Britain has never had America’s best interest at heart, they treated the colonies as a piece of property and nothing more. Paine suggests that if America breaks its ties with Britain, there will be no need for Britain to defend them against the rest of the world. The reason being that if America becomes a trade partner that is mutually beneficial and adequate enough with the other countries in Europe, no individual country will allow it to fall because they would prefer to keep America free. He stresses that “A government of our own is our natural

The recurring issue that overtakes Paine’s idea of a perfect America is that America did

He argues in his book that it was one of the biggest mistakes in history to bring a monarchy succession. Paine thinks it is very important for people to understand that man originally was in the state of equality, which means that inequality was caused by some certain circumstances which are in America’s case, the British occupation. Originally, there were no kings, until the ancient Jews demanded one, and from here it started. Paine considers this as a sin because god only should rule over the people. The ancient Jews asked the prophet Samuel to have a king, at first he tried to dissuade them, but he couldn’t. They insisted on having a king, until they had one. This story in Paine’s opinion must be known by everyone in order to understand what is happening in America, and why they should face it and stop it. A revolution must be held by people who understand the situation, and why it is wrong, Paine had the evidence to prove that the British in America is wrong, and that they must have no king and a heredity succession. Thus, they have to make a Revolution, which is the American Revolution, urging for America’s Independence.

It is clear that throughout many years there has been an exemption of treatment when talking about the Native Americans in the United States. Supposedly every individual is endowed with the right of freedom, equality, and of seeking for happiness, but Native Americans were treated irrationally. From the discovery of America, to the founding fathers and settlers, the treatment and attitude towards Native Americans has been unsettling at best. The colonial policies toward the Native Americans affected the Indians in ways that changed their relationship between their tribes and the new nation. Cabeza de Vaca, Roger Williams, Cotton Mather, and Benjamin

Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist and revolutionary. In 1791 he published a book titled “Rights of Man.” In this, Paine describes the natural rights of the people and what may happen if governments choose not to protect these rights. In this he states that America is a place against all odds doesn’t have oppressed poor, and that the rich are not overly privileged. Thomas Paine’s characterization of America doesn’t hold true today because the government is no longer just and that poor people are oppressed.

In 1791 Thomas Paine wrote the book Rights of Man, in which Paine illustrates his thoughts on the unity of the American people. Walter Russell, however, says America "has always been a division of man. There has always been the conqueror and conquered - the master and slave - the ruler and the ruled - the oppressor and the oppressed. There has never been content nor unity. There has been only discontent and disunity". While in the United States there are people similar to Thomas, who believe and strive for freedom and diversity, there are also those who Walter Russell illustrates that promote racism, violence, and disunity. I mostly disagree with Thomas Paine because, while there are times of peace; justice; and concord, there are far greater instances of oppression, privilege, and riots.

In lines 37-40 he says “... a generous parent would have said, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace:””. This example puts the listener of The Crisis in a mindset that forces them to consider the future, not only for themselves, but also for their children. This helps to persuade the audience because they must reason with the idea that Paine has presented to them. To add to the idea of reasoning, Paine says in lines 43-46 “America will never be happy until she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing will break out until that period arrives, and the continent in the end must be the conqueror; for, though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal never can expire…”. This statement has a number of meanings to it. The first concept that Paine highlights is the idea of escaping from other countries. It is unlikely that Paine was scared of directing this towards Britain exclusively, so it could be concluded that this was meant towards all countries in general, and if this is the case then Paine was already trying to convince the people of America that isolationism was the route that they should be directed towards. After this point, he makes reference to liberty. During this time, America was an experimental country with freedoms and liberties that no other country had seen before, using democracy, a principle that not many countries had used. Although Paine was known for directing The Crisis

Thomas Paine, a revolutionary, intellectual, and supporter of American independence from England published a book titled, “Rights of Man” which deals with the government shielding the natural rights of its people. Initially, the book captures the diverse aspect of this nation, but it fails to reveal the struggles that arise to preserve and adapt to such a society. Paine expresses his optimism towards the supposed perfection of American society, as one “made up...of people from different nations,” with certain expectations. Additionally, the time gap between “Rights of Man” and modern America cannot be neglected. Paine wrote during an era in which “constructing a government on the principles of society and the rights of man” was the essential objective of the country. However, modern-day America experiences opposite ideals and Paine’s theory no longer remains true because of the educational gap between the rich and poor, terrorism, and racial profiling.

First of all, the poem starts with reducing London to chartered streets and rivers. The Dictionary of World History defines a charter as ‘a legal document from a ruler or government, conferring rights’ , this suggests that a charter is something positive something that gives rights. However, Thomas Paine argues in his Rights of Man that this was not the case, and rather than giving rights a charter took rights away . Thompson supports this statement and explains that