Who Is Thomas Paine's Support For The Ongoing Revolution?

1156 Words3 Pages

During the trials of King Louis XVI, Thomas Paine had two speeches transcribed from English and read by Frenchmen. Thomas Paine, despite being an outsider, spoke to the importance of exile over execution as a means of punishment for the fallen king, in addition to the significant opportunity that this occasion holds for transforming France into a republic. In France, Paine sided primarily with the Girondins which were republican moderates who expressed many similar interests to him, in contrast to the radical republicans which were the Jacobins. Between Paine’s speech on November 21st, 1792, and his speech held on the 7th of January in 1793, his republican views assert that France could move away from their monarchical ways and choose the path …show more content…

To begin, Paine expresses the importance of the French Revolution as he sees this as an important opportunity for the world to learn about the importance of liberty and freedom. In his eyes, should the French people use this opportunity to the fullest, they could achieve a new republic in which they would be free from the meddling hands of a monarch and could be guaranteed the right to liberty and freedom. Furthermore, Thomas Paine saw this as an opportunity for all of Europe, and especially England, to set an example of what could be achieved through such a revolution. This was specifically relevant to Paine’s home country of England as while wearing the crown, Louis had been paid English taxes. This clarifies how Louis XVI had become a problem for more than just France and the English too. While discussing Louis XVI’s arrest, Paine writes into his speech that “...he is arraigned not only for treason against France, but for having conspired against all Europe, and if France is to be just to all Europe we ought to use every means in our power to discover the whole extent of that conspiracy.” (pg. 129. Displaying the importance of this trial to all of Europe. With this trial, the perfect opportunity arose for Paine to criticize monarchy as a form of government, as there are a variety of fatal flaws that were exposed during this trial and serves as evidence to why the Girondin moderates should be listened to for bringing republican ideas to

Open Document