1795 THOMAS PAINE. Dissertation on the First Principles of Government + First Edition Speech. Rare.

Written and published in July 1795, the Dissertation on the First Principles of Government abides as the culmination of Thomas Paine's thinking on democratic theory, in which he openly advocates for universal (though still male-only) suffrage.

Paine had just barely survived imprisonment during the French Reign of Terror, watched colleagues guillotined, and was retrieved in a desperately ill state by James Monroe. He recovered well enough to write this work with characteristic clarity and force, as France's third constitution — the Constitution of the Year III — was being debated in the Convention.

In the Dissertation, Paine makes the case for universal suffrage wholly on the basis of equal natural rights, arguing that "the right of voting for representatives is the primary right" from which all others flow. This was the most philosophically mature and uncompromising statement of the position in his career.

The third edition, here, contains the first edition and printing of his Speech Delivered in the Convention, July 7, 1795. Even in the Third Printings that were meant to include it, it has often been removed. Very scarce.

On the occasion of the Speech, Paine ascended the tribune and pointed sharply to the contradictions between the principles of 1789 and the property requirements for suffrage in the proposed Constitution of 1795. The Convention, dominated by the wealthy bourgeoisie determined to keep political power in their own hands, listened impatiently to his fervent call for universal suffrage. No one arose to speak in support of Paine, and the Convention went on to adopt the conservative Constitution on September 23, 1795. Paine never appeared again in the Convention after the reading of the speech.

Paine, Thomas. The Only Genuine Edition, from the Paris Copy, now in the Possession of the Publisher. Dissertation on the First Principles of Government. To which is added, The Genuine Speech, Translated, and Delivered at the Tribune of the French Convention, July 7, 1795. Third Edition [The Speech Issued Here for the First Time], with the Publisher's Address to the Reader. Paris. Printed for V. Griffiths of London. 1795. 39pp + 6pp. 

Housed in an early or original, unsophisticated calf binding, spine cover somewhat lifted and worn through at extremities. Charming late 18th or early 19th century copper-metallic block printed pastedowns, probably wallpaper at one time. Title with tear and softness at the inner margin as shown. The whole binding a bit cocked.