How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
That the king is not to be trusted without being looked after, or in other words, that a thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy. (1.17)
For Paine, it's impossible to have a king as your leader and still live in a free country. In a free country, decisions should be made by leaders who've been elected by the people. Not Native Americans or black slaves, though. Paine is only talking about freedom for white men.
Quote #2
Did it [monarchy] ensure a race of good and wise men it would have the seal of divine authority, but as it opens a door to the foolish, the wicked, and the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppression. (2.16)
One of the reasons monarchy ruins freedom is because it gives power to a bunch of people who totally don't deserve it. In Paine's mind, it's hard to separate freedom from justice. If you're living in a society that isn't just, then it isn't really free either.
Quote #3
For it is the republican and not the monarchical part of the constitution of England which Englishmen glory in, viz. the liberty of choosing an house of commons from out of their own body—and it is easy to see that when republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. (2.23)
The only thing good about the English political system, according to Paine, is the fact that some of their representatives get elected. But that's cold comfort when these people still have a king and an aristocracy ruling over them.