The Routledge Guidebook to Paine's Rights of Man

Upon publication in 1791-92, the two parts of Thomas Paine'sRights of Manproved to be both immensely popular and highly controversial. An immediate bestseller, it not only defended the French revolution but also challenged current laws, customs, and government.

The Routledge Guidebook to Paine's Rights of Manprovides the first comprehensive and fully contextualized introduction to this foundational text in the history of modern political thought, addressing its...
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Upon publication in 1791-92, the two parts of Thomas Paine'sRights of Manproved to be both immensely popular and highly controversial. An immediate bestseller, it not only defended the French revolution but also challenged current laws, customs, and government.

The Routledge Guidebook to Paine's Rights of Manprovides the first comprehensive and fully contextualized introduction to this foundational text in the history of modern political thought, addressing its central themes, reception, and influence. The Guidebookexamines:

• the history of rights, populism, representative governments, and challenges to monarchy from the 12ththrough 18thcentury;
• Paine's arguments against monarchies, mixed governments, war, and state-church establishments;
• Paine's views on constitutions;
• Paine's proposals regarding suffrage, inequality, poverty, and public welfare;
• Paine's revolution in rhetoric and style;
• the critical reception upon publication and influence through the centuries, as well as Paine's relevance today.

The Routledge Guidebook to Paine's Rights of Manis essential reading for students of eighteenth-century American and British history, politics and philosophy, and anyone approaching Paine's work for the first time.