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Primary sourceBookNovember 1790

Reflections on the Revolution in France

Edmund Burke · November 1790

Edmund Burke's 1790 pamphlet attacking the French Revolution, which prompted Paine to write Rights of Man in response.

Burke's pamphlet provoked Paine's Rights of Man, the direct reply that defines their famous debate.

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Title page of 'Reflections on the Revolution in France', set in serif capitals. Text reads: on the revolution in France, and on the proceedings in certain societies in London relative to that event, in a letter intended to have been sent to a gentleman in Paris, by the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, London: printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, MDCCXC. Yellowed paper with a faint stamp mark in the middle.
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, title page, 1790.

About this source

What it is

Reflections on the Revolution in France is a political pamphlet written by the British statesman Edmund Burke, published in November 1790. It contrasts the French Revolution with the unwritten British constitution and defends monarchy, aristocracy, and hereditary succession.

Why it matters

Burke's pamphlet became a foundational text of modern conservatism and sparked fierce debate in Britain. Thomas Paine wrote Rights of Man directly in reply, defending the Revolution and arguing for natural rights instead of tradition. Together the two texts form one of the most famous political debates of the era, revealing the opposing visions of government held by Burke and Paine.

Look closer

  • What reasons does Burke give for valuing tradition and hereditary power?
  • Why might Burke's earlier support for American independence make his opposition to the French Revolution surprising?
  • How might Paine have reacted reading this pamphlet?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft and Marie Antoinette on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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