England, 1787 - 1792

From what we now see, nothing of reform in the political world ought to be held improbable. It is an age of revolutions, in which every thing may be looked for.
– Rights of Man, February 1791

In 1787 Thomas Paine, who had a strong bent for science, returned temporarily to England to promote his design for an iron bridge. The storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, however, turned his interest back to “Political Bridges.” Rebutting conservative Whig Edmund Burke’s attack on the French Revolution, Paine went on in his two-part Rights of Man to undermine the established order of the British Constitution. “He seems Cock Sure of bringing about a Revolution in Great Britain,” recorded the New York–born aristocrat Gouverneur Morris, “and I think it quite as likely that he will be promoted to the Pilory.” Charged with “wicked and seditious writings,” Paine fled to France.



Thomas Paine Attributed to Samuel Collings (?–1795) Pencil, ink, and wash on paper, c. 1792	Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, 1791	Dedication page from Rights of Man


Thomas Paine William Sharp (1749–1824), after George Romney Engraving, 1793	Fashion before Ease; or, a Good Constitution sacrificed, for a Fantastick Form James Gillray (1757–1815) Colored engraving, published in London, January 2, 1793	Wha Wants Me Isaac Cruikshank (1756–1811) Colored engraving, published in London, December 26, 1792