Reason and Revolution
Poli 110J
Nothing more than simple facts, plain
arguments, and common sense
Causes of Revolution
• Economic exploitation by England
– Taxation, forcible quartering of soldiers, violation of
property rights
• Legal domination
– British soldiers to be tried only in England, forced
alteration of MA charter, restriction of town meetings
• Governmental oppression
– Colonies have no say in taxation, diminished voice in
own gov’t
Thomas Paine
• B. Feb. 9 1737, Thetford,
England
• Arrives in American colonies
1774
• Common Sense: 1776
• Rights of Man: 1790,
supporting French Revolution,
elected to National
Convention, imprisoned by
Robespierre 1793
• Age of Reason: 1794, 1795,
1807
• Returns to US 1803
• Dies 1809
Common Sense
• January, 1776
• Massively influential
– Before its publication, about 1/3 of American
colonials supported the break from Britain, 1/3
opposed, and 1/3 were undecided
– After, it was closer to 2/3 in favor of Revolution
• Focused strongly on the containment of
governmental power
– Reason vs. passion, tradition
Common Sense
• Against the power of tradition & emotion:
• “Perhaps the sentiments contained in the
following pages, are not yet sufficiently
fashionable to procure them general favor; a
long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives
it a superficial appearance of being right, and
raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of
custom.” (section 1)
Common Sense
• Against the power of tradition & emotion:
• “The prejudice of Englishmen, in favor of their
own government by king, lords, and
commons, arises as much or more from
national pride than reason.”
Common Sense
• Against the power of tradition & emotion:
• “The will of the king is as much the law of the
land in Britain as in France, with this
difference, that instead of proceeding directly
from his mouth, it is handed to the people
under the most formidable shape of an act of
parliament. For the fate of Charles the First,
hath only made kings more subtle not more
just.”
Common Sense
• Against the power of tradition & emotion:
• “Wherefore, laying aside all national pride and
prejudice in favor of modes and forms, the
plain truth is, that it is wholly owing to the
constitution of the people, and not to the
constitution of the government that the crown
is not as oppressive in England as in Turkey.”
(section 2)
Common Sense
• Against the power of tradition & emotion:
– Disinterested reason should be the guide to political
action
– “In the following pages I offer nothing more than
simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense;
and have no other preliminaries to settle with the
reader, than that he will divest himself of prejudice
and prepossession, and suffer his reason and his
feelings to determine for themselves; that he will put
on, or rather that he will not put off, the true
character of a man, and generously enlarge his views
beyond the present day.” (section 4)
Common Sense
• Reason is believed to be
– Impartial & unbiased
– A method of reaching universal & definitive truth
– Comprehensible by anyone not blinded by passion
or bias, regardless of social station (“common
sense”)
• Thus, it is for Paine the source of just political
authority
Common Sense
• What’s so bad about kings? (section 3)
– Nature does not sanction division of men into
Kings and Subjects. It is only customary.
– The State of Nature as tool of criticism
• A government must not make things worse than they
are in the State of Nature if they are to deserve
compliance
• What’s so bad about kings?
The Bible, often used as a source of legitimacy by kings,
is in fact anti-monarchical
• Samuel vs. a King for Israel (1 Samuel 8)
– God & Samuel oppose (only God is king)
– People demand king
– Taxation, war, oppression the costs of kingship
• Capturing the past
Thus, kingship is purely a human creation, no
more inherently valid or necessary than any
other.
Common Sense
• What’s so bad about kings?
• Hereditary succession is both unjust and
impractical
– Gives “an ass in place of a lion” for future generations
(bad successors)
– causes kings to think of themselves as a race apart,
corrupts them
– Puts the throne in hands of child or a (likely corrupt)
regent
– Instead of protecting against civil wars, HS promotes
them. Would-be rulers can only come to power by
force
Common Sense
• Why is independence necessary? (sect. 4)
– England is violently oppressive, exploiting America
for the good of England
– England is too far away to govern America
effectively, even if it wanted to.
– Being a part of the British Empire will inevitably
involve America in unnecessary imperial conflicts.
Common Sense
• By grounding political authority in reason,
Paine is able to make a persuasive argument
undermining the foundations of British
government, which is based in tradition,
religion, and custom.
Common Sense
• “Society is produced by our wants, and
government by our wickedness; the former
promotes our happiness Positively by uniting
our affections, the latter negatively by
restraining our vices. The one encourages
intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The
first is a patron, the last a punisher.”
– The true end of government is security. (sect. 2)
Common Sense
• What is the basis of just government?
• Paine quotes Dragonetti: “The science of the
politician consists in fixing the true point of
happiness and freedom. Those men would
deserve the gratitude of ages, who should
discover a mode of government that
contained the greatest sum of individual
happiness, with the least national expense.”
Common Sense
• What is the basis of just government?
– Freedom
– Happiness
– Efficiency
Common Sense
• How does Paine propose to achieve this?
– Commerce
– Local government with weak central government
– Religious toleration
– Rule of Law
Common Sense
• Commerce will lead to peace and prosperity:
• “Our plan is commerce, and that, well
attended to, will secure us the peace and
friendship of all Europe; because it is the
interest of all Europe to have America a free
port. Her trade will always be a protection,
and her barrenness of gold and silver secure
her from invaders.” (sect. 4)
Common Sense
• Local government with weak central
government (sect. 5)
• Each colony equally represented
• Each colony retains sovereignty
• Weak executive (needs 60% congressional approval to
pass laws)
• Continental Charter, guaranteeing political freedom,
property, freedom of religion
Common Sense
• Religious toleration (sect. 5)
• “As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable
duty of all government, to protect all
conscientious professors thereof, and I know of
no other business which government hath to do
therewith… Were we all of one way of thinking,
our religious dispositions would want matter for
probation; and on this liberal principle, I look on
the various denominations among us, to be like
children of the same family”
Common Sense
• Rule of Law (sect. 5)
• “Let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the
charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law,
the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by
which the world may know, that so far as we approve
of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as
in absolute governments the King is law, so in free
countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to
be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise,
let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be
demolished, and scattered among the people whose
right it is. A government of our own is our natural
right.”
Common Sense
• American exceptionalism:
• “The sun never shined on a cause of greater
worth. 'Tis not the affair of a city, a country, a
province, or a kingdom, but of a continent of
at least one eighth part of the habitable globe.
'Tis not the concern of a day, a year, or an age;
posterity are virtually involved in the contest,
and will be more or less affected, even to the
end of time, by the proceedings now.” (sect. 1)
Common Sense
• “Let the names of Whig and Tory be extinct;
and let none other be heard among us, than
those of a good citizen, an open and resolute
friend, and a virtuous supporter of the RIGHTS
of MANKIND and of the FREE AND
INDEPENDENT STATES OF AMERICA.” (sect. 6)
– What does it mean to define your cause as that of
all humanity?
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• Approved for ratification by Second
Continental Congress Nov. 2, 1777.
– During the war. Became de facto system of gov’t
until ratified March 1, 1781.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• “To all to whom these Presents shall come, we
the undersigned Delegates of the States
affixed to our Names send greeting.”
– Unlike the Declaration, this is written in the voice
of the various states, not in that of a unified,
national people.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 1. Officially names the new nation the United
States of America
– This is really pretty self-explanatory.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 2. Each state remains sovereign except as
limited by the Articles
– Internally, each state is effectively independent of
the rest. Very strong state powers.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 3. The US is a new nation united “in
perpetuity” for the preservation of the rights
and security of the various states.
– Unlike the Declaration of Independence, the
Articles explicitly guarantee the rights and security
of states more than they do those of individuals.
• The individual is understood to be represented be his
or her (that is to say, his) community/State.
• 4. Unrestricted movement between states for
all except “paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives.”
• Local law applies
• Extradition
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 5. Each state gets one vote in the Congress of
the Confederation
– Unicameral legislature
– Disproportionately favors small states. Large
states asked to contribute more for only an equal
share of legislative power.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 6. Powers of war and foreign relations
exclusive domain of central government
– Internal powers largely remain with states, but the
US deals with the outside world as a single
political unit.
– Standing armies & navies only for central gov’t,
but states may have militias
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 8. Central government will be paid for via
funds raised by the states
– No taxation powers or abilities to make funding
compulsory
– Could only request funding from the states, to be
paid on essentially voluntary basis.
• Freerider problem
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 9. Powers of central government:
– Adjudicate between states
– War
– Weights, measures, currency
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• 13. Articles of Confederation are perpetual,
can only be altered by unanimous consent of
all states.
– Unanimity is a hard thing to get. This gives each
state immense veto powers.
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• Problems: Central government
– Could not enforce requests for funding
– Had no draft powers, could not compel states to
comply w/requests for troops.
– Often was unable to pay soldiers, much less fulfill
promise of life pensions to them.
Declaration of Independence
• Emerging tensions:
– Which has priority, liberty or equality?
– Is the United States an alliance of independent
states, or is it a single, national people?
– What is the relationship of law to the popular
sovereign?
Articles of Confederation and
Perpetual Union
• Recognition of these problems led to the first
major political factionalization of the newly
independent United States
– Federalists: want fundamental reform of the
structure of gov’t, creating a far stronger central
government
– Anti-federalists: believe that this would infringe on
freedoms of the states, and thus of the individuals
that they represent.