Who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
|
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, written in August 1789, is a central document of the French Revolution and fundamental to the history of both civil and human rights. It was strongly influenced by America’s Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson; The Marquis de Lafayette, a veteran of the American Revolution and friend of Jefferson, wrote the French Declaration. He persuaded the National Assembly to adopt the document in 1789, shortly after the fall of Bastille prison, a symbol of the ancien régime, the old regime, and the feudal system in France. The Declaration relies heavily on the Enlightenment philosophy of natural rights, or rights that are universal and inalienable for all individuals, and embodies the French Revolution ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. At the time of its creation, the Declaration united people of various social classes (the first, second, and third estate) as they began an often-violent revolution; after, its words echoed in future French constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) created by the United Nations. Belief in “human rights,” particularly the right of a people to break the social contract between themselves and their government when that government is oppressive, permeates our world today. Show
France’s National Constituent Assembly declared the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on August 26th 1789. The Declaration was drafted by the Abbé Sieyès and the Marquis de Lafayette, in consultation with Thomas Jefferson. It is one of the many topics about the French Revolution, which is also featured in the World History segment of the IAS Exam. The Enlightenment ideals largely inspired the content of the document. The first draft was prepared by Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French commander who had fought for the American Revolutionaries during the American Revolution. He made the draft in consultation with his close friend, Thomas Jefferson, who would later become the 3rd President of the United States. Honoré Mirabeau played a central role in conceptualizing and drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August 1789. The final draft of the article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted on the 26 of August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly, when the French Revolution was at its height, as the first step toward writing a constitution for France. The representatives discussed the original version of the Declaration based on 24 articles. The draft was proposed by the sixth bureaucrat, led by Jérôme Champion de Cicé. The draft was later modified during the debates. A second and lengthier declaration, known as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793, was written in 1793 but never formally adopted. To know about the importance of Human Rights Day visit the linked article. Structure of the Declaration of Rights of ManThe structure of the Declaration of Rights of Man consists of 17 articles, some of the most well known and important are highlighted below: Article I – Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common good. Article II – The goal of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, safety and resistance against oppression. Article III – The principle of any sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation. Nobody, no individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation. Article IV – Liberty consists of doing anything which does not harm others: thus, the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the fruition of these same rights. These borders can be determined only by the law. Article V – The law has the right to forbid only actions harmful to society. Anything that the law is not forbidden cannot be impeded, and no one can be constrained to do what it does not order. Article VI – The law is the expression of the general will. All the citizens have the right of contributing personally or through their representatives to its formation. It must be the same for all, either that it protects, or that it punishes. All the citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents. To know more about the structure of the Constitution of India, visit the linked article Facts about the Declaration of the Rights of Man
Declaration of Rights of Man – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here For more related articles and materials for UPSC preparation, follow the links given in the table below: UPSC Preparation: Who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and when?Who wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen? The Marquis de Lafayette, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, composed a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and presented it to the National Assembly on July 11, 1789.
Why was the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen written?As its name suggests, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was a written expression of the natural rights of citizens in revolutionary France. Inspired by British and American covenants, France's declaration was the most ambitious attempt to protect individual rights in any European nation to that point.
When was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen written?Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789 · LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION.
Who influenced the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen?It was thus heavily influenced by documents such as the American Declaration of Independence and American Constitution, and by Enlightenment ideals that explored the political relationship between individuals and the collective as detailed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
|
