Rights of Man, Part II Summary and Analysis

Combining Principals and Practice, 1792; as written to the Marquis de La Fayette.

Paine conveys admiration to the Marquis for cooperation and wisdom during the American Revolution. The only point on which Paine disagrees with the Marquis is the time frame in which political reform could occur. The Marquis' time frame was much more liberal than Paine's, and one could only surmise that while Paine was being bold, the Marquis was being diplomatic, perhaps due to his extensive military and political experience.

The Rights of Man, Part the Second, was planned as a deferred continuance to Part the First for two reasons. First, Paine worried that continuing the document in one piece would make it too bulky or force him to condense his plan too much. The second reason is that Paine wanted to give Burke the opportunity...