TO THE PEOPLE OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH ARMIES Philip Foner’s introduction: On the Seventeenth Fructidor, September 3, 1797, the leaders of the majority in the Council of Five Hundred decided to vote the impeachment on the following day of Barras, Reubell, and La Reveillere, members of the French Directory. In case of resistance on […]
WORSHIP AND CHURCH BELLS, A LETTER TO CAMILLE JORDAN Philip Foner’s introduction: This pamphlet, published in the summer of 1797 in Paris and London, was Paine’s reply to a Report made to the French Convention by Camille Jordan, a royalist lawyer and member of the Council of Five Hundred, recommending the restoration of certain Catholic
SPEECH IN THE FRENCH NATIONAL CONVENTION, JULY 7, 1795 Philip Foner’s introduction: On the 19th of Messidor of the year III, Paine had read from the tribune in the French National Convention the translation of this speech, which he had written in English, pointing sharply to the contradictions between the principles of 1789 and the
From the original letter at the Library of Congress. Citizen Representatives If I should not express myself with the energy I used formerly to do, you will attribute it to the very dangerous illness I have suffered in the prison of the Lux — for several days I was insensible of my own existence and
To the French National Convention August 7, 1794 Read Post »
Philip Foner’s introduction: After it was revealed during his trial that the king had been conspiring with the French emigres and the courts of Europe to wage war upon the people of France, the Jacobins demanded the death of the king. Having failed to avoid the trial, the Girondins now sought to soften the verdict
Philip Foner’s introduction: Paine refused to support the Girondin proposal calling for a popular referendum to decide the king’s fate. At the same time, however, while voting the king guilty of treason, he refused to vote for the death penalty. He had this address translated and read to the French National Convention on January 19,
Philip Foner’s introduction: This paper appears in the French State Archives, and is endorsed “January 1793. Thomas Payne. Copie.” The date is erroneous, for the reference to the defeat of the Duke of York at Dunkirk indicates that it was written during the late summer or early fall of 1793. The Duke of York set
Philip Foner’s introduction: After France was proclaimed a Republic, the question what was to be done with the former king arose. Most Girondins opposed bringing the king to trial, fearing that during its course secrets revealing their own treacherous role would be made public. Although he was losing favor with the Jacobins at this time
To the French National Convention October 22, 1792 CITIZEN PRESIDENT: In the name of the deputies of the department of Pas de Calais, I have the honor of presenting to the Convention the felicitations of the General Council of the Commune of Calais on the abolition of royalty. Amid the joy inspired by this event,
To the French National Convention October 22, 1792 Read Post »
AN ESSAY FOR THE USE OF NEW REPUBLICANS IN THEIR OPPOSITION TO MONARCHY Philip Foner’s introduction: The following Essay was first published in Le Patriote Francois of October 20, 1792. The setting in France at the time Paine wrote this article was extremely exciting. On September 20, 1792, at Valmy, the French army was able
ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF FRANCE Philip Foner’s introduction: At the same time that British royalty was persecuting Paine for having dared to expose the inequalities in English society as well as for his fervent defense of the French Revolution, the French nation hailed him as their champion and claimed him for herself. On August
ON THE LATE PROCLAMATION from the 1792 pamphlet published by Symonds in London. COULD I have commanded circumstances with a wish, I know not of any that would have more generally promoted the progress of knowledge, than the late Proclamation, and the numerous rotten Borough and Corporation Addresses thereon. They have not only served as
