Thomas Paine (1737-1809) exposed his views on monarchy and hereditary succession on his famous pamphlet Common Sense.
Thomas Paine stated that all men were created equal by God's grace so it made no sense that a man should have the right to rule by birth. Thomas Paine exposed that no king should be trusted with so much power, and that a nation needed a prepared and educated government where only the law is king, therefor only the law should rule.
