Burke v. Paine

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Veronica Bulaon Midterm Essay Conservatism Burke v. Paine This essay will examine the philosophical conflict between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine concerning the French and American Revolutions at the end of the Eighteenth Century. The first part of this essay will present an overview of the dispute between these two very different men. The second and third parts of this essay will present the main arguments of each man separately. The final section of this essay will briefly explain why Thomas Paine's views eventually gained more credibility in America than those of Edmund Burke. In short, this essay will examine both Burke and Paine’s views of human nature, natural rights, and the rights of man to overthrow their government. Burke and Paine came from two opposite ends of the political spectrum. Burke was an archetypal conservative, valuing history, tradition, and the status quo. Paine was a firebrand of the left, advocating revolution and popular democracy. Ironically, Edmund Burke sympathized with the colonists in North America during the period of turmoil there, but he did not support the complete social revolution which took place in France during the last years of the 1700s. Thomas Paine, on the other hand, supported both the French and American revolutions. Paine’s writings are often credited with inspiring many of the American colonists to rebel against their mother country. The colonists, in turn, were said to have been a source of inspiration for the French lower classes. Burke simply did not believe in overthrowing the social order or existing French monarchy. In contrast to the French Revolution, the American Revolution did not result in a new social order, for most of the colonial rebel leaders were already aristocratic, wealthy, and propertied men. These men wanted to rule the colonies as they saw fit, rather than subject
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