"Paine’s answer to Burke’s pamphlet begins to produce some squibs in our public papers. In Fenno’s paper they are Burkites, in the others Painites." — Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, May 8, 1791

"The Revolution of France does not astonish me so much as the Revolution of Mr. Burke. I wish I could believe the latter proceeded from as pure motives as the former. But what demonstration could scarcely have established before, less than the hints of Dr. Priestly and Mr. Paine establish firmly now. How mortifying that this evidence of the rotteness of his mind must oblige us now to ascribe to wicked motives those actions of his life which wore the mask of virtue and patriotism. To judge from what we see published, we must believe that the spirit of toryism has gained nearly the whole of the nation: that the whig principles are utterly extinguished except in the breasts of certain descriptions of dissenters. This sudden change in the principles of a nation would be a curious morsel in the history of man.—We have some names of note here who have apostatised from the true faith: but they are few indeed, and the body of our citizens are pure and insusceptible of taint in their republicanism. Mr. Paine’s answer to Burke will be a refreshing shower to their minds. It would bring England itself to reason and revolution if it was permitted to be read there. However the same things will be said in milder forms, will make their way among the people, and you must reform at last." — Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Vaughan, May 11, 1791

"Burke’s pamphlet and the answers to him occupy much attention there [i.e. Europe] and here [Philadelphia]. Payne’s and Priestly’s are excellent." — Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Sumter, May 14, 1791

"You will observe by the inclosed and preceding papers, that I am mentioned on the subject of Paine’s pamphlet on the rights of man: and you will have seen a note of mine prefixed to that pamphlet, whence it has been inferred that I furnished the pamphlet to the printer and procured it’s publication. This is not true. The fact was this. Mr. Beckley had the only copy of that pamphlet in town. He lent it to Mr. Madison, who lent it to me under the injunction to return it to Beckley within the day. Beckley came for it before I had finished reading it, and desired, as soon as I had done, I would send it to a Mr. Jonathan B. Smith whose brother was to reprint it. Being an utter stranger to Mr. J. B. Smith, I explained to him in a note that I sent the pamphlet to him by order of Mr. Beckley and, to take off somewhat of the dryness of the note, I added ‘that I was glad to find it was to be reprinted here &c. as you have seen in the printed note. I thought so little of this note, that I did not even retain a copy of it: and without the least information or suspicion that it would be published, out it comes the next week at the head of the pamphlet. I knew immediately that it would give displeasure to some gentlemen, fast by the chair of government, who were in sentiment with Burke, and as much opposed to the sentiments of Paine. I could not disavow my note, because I had written it: I could not disavow my approbation of the pamphlet, because I was fully in sentiment with it: and it would have been trifling to have disavowed merely the publication of the note, approving at the same time of the pamphlet. I determined therefore to be utterly silent, except so far as verbal explanations could be made." — Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, July 3, 1791

For details, see editorial note in PTJ 20: 268-312 on The Rights of Man: The "Contest of Burke and Paine . . . in America."