Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen) was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly of France on 26 August 1789. Drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, it was a fundamental document of the French Revolution, encapsulating Enlightenment principles. The Declaration posited that all men are born free and equal in rights, which were specified as natural and inalienable. This included rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. The document declared that sovereignty resided in the nation (rather than in a monarch) and that all citizens were equal before the law.

The Declaration had articles that outlined specific civil liberties and legal protections. For instance, Article IV stated that liberty consists of the freedom to do anything that does not harm others, while Article V specified that law could only forbid actions harmful to society. The principle of separation of powers was enshrined in Article XVI, asserting that any society in which rights were not guaranteed or the separation of powers was not defined had no constitution. The Declaration also introduced ideas such as freedom of speech, religious freedom, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty (Article XI). 

Economic protections were also included. The property was declared an inviolable and sacred right, prompting the state to ensure it was not arbitrarily taken away from individuals (unless public necessity evidently required it). Article XIII underscored the necessity of an equitable tax system, stating that all citizens have the right to decide, either directly or through their representatives, the necessity of public contributions.

The Declaration did not address women's rights, leading to criticism from figures like Olympe de Gouges, who authored the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in response. Furthermore, although the declaration aimed for universal principles, its implications were mainly limited to white male property owners initially, leading to debates regarding its universality and applicability in colonial contexts.

By articulating fundamental liberal principles, the Declaration influenced domestic constitutional laws and had a lasting legacy outside France. Its values were reflected in the 1791 French Constitution and impacted the development of human rights discourses globally. Subsequent international documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, drew inspiration from the 1789 Declaration.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted on 26 August 1789, and it laid down the essential rights and freedoms that all citizens were entitled to in the new France; this document inspired similar declarations around the world.
• Written primarily by the Marquis de Lafayette, the document was influenced by Enlightenment thinkers (like Rousseau and Locke) and the American Declaration of Independence (1776), demonstrating a transatlantic exchange of revolutionary ideas.
• This declaration marked a radical shift in the understanding of citizenship, asserting that all men are born free and equal in rights; it also specified that the law is an expression of the general will, which was a novel concept for governance at the time.
• One of the lesser-known impacts of the Declaration was its resourcefulness in providing a framework for revolutionary legal codes, influencing later developments in human rights legislation globally, well into the 20th century.
• Although it primarily spoke to men, the Declaration laid the groundwork for future women's rights movements; figures like Olympe de Gouges used its principles to advocate for women's rights shortly thereafter.