In vain it is to look for precedents among the revolutions of former ages, to find out, by comparison, the causes of this.
Thomas Paine: “In vain it is to look for precedents among the revolutions of former ages, to find out, by comparison, the causes of…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine argues that the American Revolution cannot be understood through the lens of previous revolutions, highlighting its distinct causes.
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It has nothing to dread from attacks; truth has given it an establishment, and time will record it with a name as lasting as his own.
Many of the facts were in themselves principles; such as the declaration of American Independence, and the treaty of alliance between France and America, which recognised the natural rights of man, and justified resistance to oppression.
The object is not so much the produce of the tax as the justice of the measure.
They form a common policy throughout Europe, detached and separate from the interest of Nations: and while they appear to quarrel, they agree to plunder.