English Mrs.

Mckay
Period 8
Warren Ellsworth

Rights of Man

A revolutionary figure and influencer to the early U.S., Thomas Paine was one of the
founding fathers of America. Paine was known for his writings, such as Common Sense and
Rights of Man. Over 100,000 copies of Common Sense were printed. The ideals portrayed in his
pamphlet certainly influenced the American Revolution and the drive for independence from the
injustice of Britain. Paine’s writings portrayed a generally positive and uplifting picture of the to-
be America, however, it can be seen that his utopian representation of modern-day America is far
off of the actual United States of America which we live in. In Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, Rights
of Man, he inaccurately describes America today, portraying America as a far too unified and
balanced country than it is today.
To begin, Paine’s pamphlet, Rights of Man, paints a far too optimistic picture of a united
and unified nation. In Rights of Man, Paine says of his idealistic America, “Made up, as it is,
people of different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of government, . . it would
prepare that a union of such people was impractical; but by simple operation of constructing
boernment on the principles of society, . . . every difficulty retires, and all parts are brought into
cordial unison.” In other words, Paine is suggesting that due to the structure of government in
future America, all difficulties would be resolved and “brought into cordial unison.” However,
this is not the case today. Both social unrest and difficulties do still exist today. Take for
instance, the Black Lives Matter protests that have occurred this year. Paine suggested that under
the U.S., all people would be unified. However, this is not the case. Black people are protesting
social unrest and discrimination clearly not evident in Paine’s vision. Paine said there would be
“nothing to endanger riots and tumults.” Those riots still exist. Paine’s vision of the future U.S.
was too optimistic, as it can be seen that a large number of the realities he suggested look more
like over-the-top estimations. Inequality does still exist and people are still imperfect. Rights of
Man paints a far too bright picture of America today.
Furthermore, Rights of Man outlines an especially fair and economically balanced
society. He writes about how both the poor would not be oppressed or the rich enriched. Rather,
his argument is that American society would be balanced due to its structure of government.
Once again, it can be seen that truth prevails. Economic inequality exists throughout the world,
regardless of governmental control. The very poor and very rich exist today, and are still viewed
as large social problems in the world today: the excessively rich and the extremely poor. Even
with a supposedly perfect U.S. government, Paine failed to realize that the population would still
be made up of imperfect people. Discriminatory practices result not from an imperfect
government, but rather from uncontrollable, imperfect people. Unless every aspect of human life
could be controlled and effectively managed by the government, the government would be
unable to control the imperfections of the human race. Since it is impossible for a government to
control every aspect of human life, Paine’s argument is invalid. There is a clear imbalance and
confusion in today’s society, something Paine clearly missed in Rights of Man.
In conclusion, Thomas Paine’s writings in Rights of Man are too optimistic and
misleading. Paine was trying to spark an angry revolution, not paint an accurate picture of
futuristic America. The universally unified society he suggested in Rights of Man is only
somewhat visible, and the balance of society he suggested does not exist. Given the context of
what Paine was writing for, his pamphlet can be clearly viewed as political propaganda. His
extremely bright suggestions and euphemisms served their purpose, but should not be described
as an accurate representation of America today.