The publication of the Rights of Man was followed by further notable contributions from Mary Wollstonecraft - Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), widely regarded as the first argument for feminism - and William Godwin, whose An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, published in 1793, is regarded as the first statement of anarchist principles. Despite different emphases, these books all contained a similar theme: guided by the ideas of ‘progress’ and ‘reason’ it was now possible to conceive of a modern society in which citizens had full rights in choosing their government based on equal representation. The antiquarian system of privilege and hereditary government, unequal representation and the subjugation of women had no place in a modern democracy.

These arguments were given a more immediate context with the political upheavals going on in Britain at the time. The publication of the Rights of Man sold around 200,000 copies following the publication of its second part in 1792. In May 1792 the British Government presented Paine with a summons for ‘seditious writings’. Paine escaped to France before he could be put on trial. However his ideas were taken up by groups such as the London Corresponding Society, (LCS) set up in 1792 and believed to be the first working class movement. The LCS campaigned for democratic representation of the people. Demonstrations they called led to major agitations and tensions with the government. Fearing Britain may be on the verge of revolution, the government issued the two ‘Gagging Acts’, against ‘treason’ and ‘sedition’ and put many of the leaders of the LCS on trial, though the Treason Trial of 1794 found them not guilty, a decision thought to be influenced by public support for the movement.

Therefore Paine did have an important influence in Britain as well as France and America. It is remarkable how his ideas were able to influence such a range of movements and events in different countries. While Britain was not yet ready to take up his arguments in similar ways to France and America, his ideas were sufficiently well received to contribute to one of the most unstable political periods in Britain, ultimately thwarted by a backlash against the radical movements and the disintegration and fragmentation of the dissident leadership. Paine spent his last years in relative obscurity in America, following a period of imprisonment in France between 1793 and 1794, the years of the Jacobin Terror, for opposing the execution of King Louis XVI.

The influence of Thomas Paine remains crucial to understanding the development of modern politics and political ideas. His work spanned such contemporary issues as economic growth and social justice, which he expounded in his last major work, Agrarian Justice, published in 1797. Here he contrasted the disparities of wealth and the political inequality that resulted from them, leading him to argue in favour of the expansion of the modern industry. Although falling short of advocating public ownership, he did favour pensions and what would now be seen as welfare policies. However, it is his work on democratic and constitutional government and national independence for which he will be primarily be remembered. His debate with Burke is still recognised as a classic dispute between radical and conservative positions on politics. But above all, he had the capacity to be in the right place at the right time, and to write in a sufficiently popular and committed way to influence large audiences. This partly testifies to his democratic principles and for raising awkward questions wherever he went: a true dissenter.

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