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The National Constituent Assembly of France

About The National Constituent Assembly of France

The Declaration was adopted on 26 August 1789 by France's National Constituent Assembly, the body formed from the Estates-General at the start of the French Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette, who had fought in the American Revolution and consulted Thomas Jefferson, presented an early draft; the final text was worked out in committee and debate.

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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

1789; English translation by Thomas Paine, 1791 · 18th Century · Political Theory

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is the founding statement of the French Revolution. The National Assembly adopted it on 26 August 1789, a few weeks after the fall of the Bastille, as a preface to the constitution it intended to write.