""THE SUPPOSED QUIETUDE OF A GOOD MAN ALLURES THE RUFFIAN; WHILE ON THE OTHER HAND, ARMS LIKE LAWS DISCOURAGE AND KEEP THE INVADER AND PLUNDERER IN AWE, AND PRESERVE ORDER IN THE WORLD AS WELL AS PROPERTY. THE SAME BALANCE WOULD BE PRESERVED WERE ALL THE WORLD DESTITUTE OF ARMS, FOR ALL WOULD BE ALIKE; BUT SINCE SOME WILL NOT, OTHERS DARE NOT LAY THEM ASIDE... HORRID MISCHIEF WOULD ENSUE WERE ONE HALF THE WORLD DEPRIVED OF THE USE OF THEM.""
— Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine - Revolutionary pamphleteer
Historical Significance
Paine's argument for universal armament as deterrent to crime and tyranny
Context
Revolutionary-era understanding of arms as essential for social order
Context
Revolutionary-era understanding of arms as essential for social order
Historical Significance
Paine’s argument for universal armament as deterrent to crime and tyranny