Rights of Men The Issue of Freedom in 18th Century British Literature
The word "rights" holds different meanings for different people. ... In the late 18th century, however, the term "rights of men" took on a more profound meaning to people. ... Amidst the French Revolution and shortly after the American victory over the British, Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and Mary Wollstonecraft published the works that would shape the views of western civilization. ... To Burke, this "entailed inheritance" meant that the rights and freedoms of citizens were inherited "privileges, franchises and liberties" (Burke 59). This transmission of rights also secured the passage of political power, titles, and property. ... According to Burke, society was created to preserve this natural order, but it can not function without the obedience of men to live by its rules. It provides opportunities and advantages that are for all men. ... Although men are entitled to have "equal rights," it does not mean they are entitled to equal things (Burke 61). In regards to the right of equal shares of power, authority, and direction in government, Burke states, "that I must deny to be amongst the direct original rights of man in civil society (Burke 61). Thomas Paines The Rights of Man, published only a few months after Burkes Reflections, advocates the French Revolution and attacks Burkes arguments. ... Whereas Burke argued that the source of mens rights was their ancestors, Paine argued the real source of human rights was God (Paine 81). Paine believed that each generation had the equal rights of its predecessor to create, abolish, or reform laws as they saw fit.