Birth and Childhood

Thomas Paine was born in England in 1737 and received a limited formal education

Self-Education

Paine pursued self-education through extensive reading and writing after his formal education ended at the age of twelve

Initial Engagement with Political Issues

Paine's first involvement with political issues came with his publication of "The Case of the Officers of Excise" in 1772

Meeting with Benjamin Franklin

Paine's meeting with Benjamin Franklin in London in 1774 led to a letter of recommendation that helped him move to the American colonies

Work as a Journalist

Paine found work as a journalist in America, writing articles and essays that would lay the groundwork for his influential pamphlets

Common Sense

Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense," published in 1776, propelled him to fame as a political thinker and influenced the American Revolution

Writing and Purpose

Paine wrote "Rights of Man" in 1791 as a defense of the French Revolution and a rebuttal to Edmund Burke's conservative critique

Principles and Ideals

Paine's "Rights of Man" argues for the principles of equality, popular sovereignty, and the rights of citizens against hereditary rule and aristocratic privilege

Criticism of Hereditary Government and Monarchy

Paine condemns hereditary government and monarchy, arguing that intelligence and wisdom cannot be inherited and that people are capable of governing themselves

Examination of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Paine praises the French declaration for affirming equality and individual freedoms, and sees it as an exemplar for Europe

Vision for a Just Society

Paine envisions a society where government is accountable to the people and policies are evaluated based on their justice rather than their novelty