Rights of Man facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rights of Man

Title page from the first edition
Author	Thomas Paine
Country	Britain
Language	English
Subject	The French Revolution
Publication date	1791

Rights of Man is a famous book written by Thomas Paine in 1791. It has 31 parts. The book says that people have a right to change their government through a revolution. This is allowed if the government does not protect the people's natural rights. Natural rights are basic rights that all people are born with, like the right to live freely.

Paine wrote Rights of Man to defend the French Revolution. This revolution began in 1789. His book was a response to another book, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), written by Edmund Burke. Burke had criticized the French Revolution. Paine's book was published in two parts, in March 1791 and February 1792.

Why Paine Wrote the Book

Thomas Paine strongly supported the French Revolution. He even visited France in 1790. Many people in Britain also supported it. One of them was Richard Price. He compared the French Revolution to Britain's own Glorious Revolution of 1688.

However, a thinker named Edmund Burke disagreed. He wrote Reflections on the Revolution in France to attack the revolution. Burke's book was very popular with wealthy landowners. It sold 30,000 copies.

Paine's Rights of Man was meant to be published in February 1791. But the first publisher was afraid of legal trouble. So, another publisher, J. S. Jordan, released it on March 16. The book was quite long, about 90,000 words. It became incredibly popular, selling up to one million copies. Many reformers, religious dissenters, and working-class people read it eagerly.

Paine's Main Ideas

Paine believed that the king and his people should have the same goals. He argued that the French Revolution was not against the king himself. Instead, it was against the unfair rules of the French monarchy. He used the Bastille, a famous prison in Paris, as a symbol. It showed the unfair system that the revolution had overthrown.

What Are Human Rights?

Paine believed that human rights come from nature itself. This means they are not given by governments or special documents. If rights were given by a government, they could also be taken away. This would make them privileges, not true rights.

Paine explained it like this:

... It is wrong to say that a charter gives rights. It actually takes rights away. Rights belong to all people. But charters, by taking rights from most people, leave them only for a few ... They are tools of unfairness ... So, individuals, each with their own personal right, made an agreement with each other to create a government. This is the only way governments should start, and the only reason they should exist.

Paine thought that the only job of a government is to protect people's basic rights. Any part of society that does not help the nation is not fair. This includes monarchies (rule by a king or queen) and aristocracies (rule by nobles). Paine's ideas came from the Age of Enlightenment. This was a time when people focused on reason and individual freedom.

Changing the English Government

In Rights of Man, Paine suggested ways to improve the English government. He wanted a written constitution. This is a set of rules for how a country is governed. He thought a national assembly, like in America, should write it.

Paine also wanted to get rid of noble titles. He felt that democracy and the idea of passing power down through families (primogeniture) did not mix. He also suggested a national budget without money for wars. He wanted lower taxes for poor people and help for them to get an education. He also proposed a progressive income tax. This means richer people would pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes. This would help stop new noble families from becoming too powerful.

Against Hereditary Rule

A main point in Rights of Man is against hereditary government. This is the idea that leaders should inherit their power, like a king's son becoming king. Some people thought this was needed because they believed humans were naturally bad.

Other writers in the 1700s also criticized the power of nobles. But Paine was one of the first to say that noble titles and inherited rule should be completely removed.

Edmund Burke, in his book, argued that society is stable when the poor are ruled by rich nobles. He thought that inheriting power, wealth, and religious roles made sure that power stayed with the elite.

Paine disagreed strongly. He said that nobles do not have special "hereditary wisdom." He argued that a nation has the right to choose its own government. Burke had called government "a clever plan of human wisdom." Paine countered that government is a plan made by people. So, inherited power cannot be a true government, because wisdom cannot be inherited.

Inheriting Power

Burke's book said that the British government was fair because of a 1688 decision. This decision made William and Mary of Orange and their children the rulers of England. Paine had two arguments against this.

First, he said that "Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself ... as the ages and generations before it." This means each new generation should be able to choose its own path. Second, Paine argued that the idea of monarchy should not start from 1688. Instead, it should be traced back to 1066. That's when William of Normandy took control of England by force.

Thomas Paine's ideas were very important for the two big revolutions of the 1700s. He dedicated Rights of Man to George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. This showed how important the American and French revolutions were to him.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from the French Revolution has key ideas:

• People are born free and equal in their rights. Differences in society should only be for the public good.
• The goal of all political groups is to protect the natural and unchanging rights of people. These rights include freedom, property, safety, and the right to resist unfair rule.
• The nation is the main source of all power. No person or group can have power unless the nation clearly gives it to them.

These ideas are very similar to the "self-evident truths" found in the United States Declaration of Independence.

Helping People in Need

In the last parts of Rights of Man, Paine talked about the poor. He suggested a detailed plan to help them. This plan involved using government money differently.

Paine believed that all citizens have a right to welfare. He said welfare is not charity, but a right that cannot be taken away. He felt that people join society to be better off, not worse. They should have their rights better protected. Paine stressed that individual rights and the well-being of society go together. He argued that extreme poverty harms a person's rights. This then makes the government less fair.

Paine strongly criticized the English Poor Laws of his time. He thought they were not effective. He said, "When in countries that are called civilized, we see age going to the workhouse and youth to the gallows, something must be wrong with the system of government." He wanted to get rid of these laws. In their place, he proposed a welfare program. This program would help young people, the elderly, and people who were struggling.

Paine's plan was based on education and tax reform. He wanted to use progressive taxes on property. He thought most poor people were children and the elderly. They could not work. He also knew that some people were poor because of taxes and having many children. Paine believed that only a republican or democratic government could run successful welfare programs. Even though Paine did not directly call for a revolt against the British monarchy, his ideas had revolutionary feelings.

Paying for Welfare

Paine thought about how much his welfare plan would cost. He estimated that England had about 7 million people. He guessed that about one-fifth, or 1,400,000 people, were poor and needed help.

Paine suggested that the money for this plan could come from cutting military spending. He argued that with a new "age of revolution" bringing peace, the government did not need to spend so much on wars. Instead, the extra tax money could go back to the people. He estimated that about £4 million, out of £17 million in total tax money, could be saved. This money could then be given to the people.

Paine asked, "Is it better that 140,000 old people are made comfortable, or that a million pounds a year is spent on one person, who is often worthless?" He concluded that his plan would give £3,640,000 to the poor. This was much more generous than the help given by the poor laws at the time.

Youth and Education

Education was a key part of Paine's welfare plan. He believed that "A nation under a well-regulated government, should permit none to remain uninstructed." He focused on educating young people. He felt that educating children would make society better as a whole.

Paine argued that a good welfare system that educates young people would prevent problems. It would lead to more knowledge among everyone. He explained that poor children often could not get a good education. They were forced to work or become apprentices. This meant poverty would continue from one generation to the next. Lack of education could also lead to more crime.

To fix this, Paine suggested giving money to poor families. He proposed £4 a year for every child under 14. This money would be given if parents sent their children to school. For 630,000 children, he estimated the cost would be £2,520,000. Paine said, "By doing this, not only will parents be helped, but ignorance will disappear from the next generation. The number of poor will become less, because their skills, with education, will be greater." Paine also suggested that women should get maternity benefits after giving birth.

Care for the Elderly

Caring for older people was also very important in Paine's plan. He divided older people into two groups. The first group was "the approach of age," for those between 50 and 60. The second group was "old age," for those 60 and older.

Paine noted that people in the "approach of age" group might still be mentally sharp. But their physical health might decline, making it harder to work. Those in the "old age" group, he said, were often unable to do hard work. They were sometimes forced to work until they died. Paine proposed paying people in the "approach of age" group £6 per year. Those in the "old age" group would get £10 per year. He estimated that with 70,000 people in each group, the cost would be £1,120,000.

Workhouses and Conditions

Paine also suggested creating places of employment for poor people. He called them "workhouses." These would be buildings large enough for at least 6,000 people. Businesses in these buildings would hire anyone who applied. This way, every citizen could find work.

For his plan to work, Paine set some conditions. People seeking work would need to stay for at least three months. During their stay, they would get healthy meals and warm places to sleep. They would also get paid for the work they did. They could work as much or as little as they wanted. Paine said these places would help about 24,000 people a year who were in temporary trouble.

To pay for this, Paine suggested using money from the state's coal tax. At the time, this tax money supported the Duke of Richmond. Paine thought this was wrong. He called for the coal tax money to be given back to the people.

Paine ended his section on welfare by listing the eight main points of his plan:

• Get rid of 2 million poor rates (taxes to help the poor).
• Provide for 252,000 poor families.
• Educate 1,030,000 children.
• Provide comfortable living for 140,000 elderly people.
• Give 20 shillings for 50,000 births.
• Give 20 shillings for 20,000 marriages.
• Set aside £20,000 for funeral costs of travelers who die far from home.
• Always provide jobs for the poor who need them in cities.

See also

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen – a key document from the French Revolution, adopted in 1789
• Social contract – an idea about how people agree to form a government
• Thomas Muir (political reformer)