"I know not whether any man in the world has had more influence on its inhabitants or affairs for the last thirty years than Tom Paine." - John Adams, 1805
One of the great classics on democracy, "Rights of Man" was published in England in 1791 as a vindication of the French Revolution and a critique of the British system of government. In direct, forceful prose, Paine defends popular rights, national independence, revolutionary war, and economic growth - all considered dangerous and even seditious issues.