Natural Rights of Man

Where it surfaces

• Editor's Introduction

  Paine insisted on surrounding individual rights with a Declaration of Rights, not to be invaded by any government, rooted in Quaker belief in universal brotherhood and equality.

• The Rights of Man

  Paine argues that all men are born with natural rights that cannot be alienated by any government.

• Part First: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution

  Paine argues that rights are inherent to all individuals, not granted by governments or hereditary succession.

• Dedication

  Paine presents his work in defense of the principles of freedom, directly invoking the concept of universal Rights of Man.

• Rights of Man

  Paine asserts that the right to choose governors, cashier them for misconduct, and frame a government resides in the whole nation, not in any particular person or generation.

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens by the National Assembly of France

  The declaration explicitly states that men are born free and equal in rights, and that the preservation of natural and imprescriptible rights (liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression) is the end of all political associations.

• Observations on the Declaration of Rights

  Paine examines the Declaration of Rights as a codification of natural rights, emphasizing the first three articles as the base of liberty

• Miscellaneous Chapter

  Paine invokes the natural right of each generation to self-governance, rejecting Burke's claim that rights are inherited from ancestors.

• Conclusion

  Paine reiterates the Declaration of Rights: men are born free and equal, and the end of political associations is the preservation of natural rights.

• French Translator’s Preface (1792)

  The preface highlights Paine's explanation of the 'Rights of Man' to the English people, central to the work's purpose.

• Of Society and Civilisation

  Implied in the discussion of man's natural social affections and the rights that precede government.

• Of the Old and New Systems of Government

  Paine grounds the new system of government in the original, inherent Rights of Man, arguing that hereditary government violates these rights.

• Of Constitutions

  Paine asserts that the Rights of Man are the rights of all generations and cannot be monopolized, emphasizing the universal and inalienable nature of these rights.