Five-minute digest

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

The National Constituent Assembly of France

Summary

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. In a short preamble and seventeen articles, it sets out the principles on which the Assembly meant to rebuild France. The English translation used here was printed by Thomas Paine in Rights of Man (1791), his reply to Edmund Burke's attack on the Revolution. The preamble declares that ignorance, neglect or contempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortunes and the corruption of governments, and it proclaims these rights in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being. The first article states that men are born and remain free and equal in rights, and that social distinctions may be founded only on public utility. The second names the natural and imprescriptible rights of man as liberty, property, security and resistance of oppression. The third places sovereignty in the nation. The following articles define liberty as the power to do whatever does not injure another and declare that law may forbid only actions harmful to society. Law is the expression of the general will; all citizens may take part in making it, and all are equally eligible for public office according to their abilities. No one may be accused, arrested or held except as the law prescribes; punishments must be strictly necessary and set by law before the offence; and every person is presumed innocent until declared guilty. No one may be troubled for his opinions, even religious ones, provided their expression does not disturb public order; the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights. Taxes must be shared equally according to means and consented to by citizens or their representatives; public officials are accountable; and a society without a guarantee of rights and a separation of powers has no constitution. The last article calls property an inviolable and sacred right. The Declaration drew on the English and American traditions, Enlightenment philosophy and the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Its promises were soon contradicted by the Terror of 1793–1794, but it remains a landmark in the history of rights. Christian readers may compare its grounding of rights in nature and the nation with grounding them in God's creation.

Top Lessons

Rights and their foundation
The Declaration speaks of natural rights declared before the Supreme Being. The question of where rights come from shapes how securely they are held.
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Words and deeds
Within a few years the Revolution executed thousands without fair trial. Noble words protect no one unless rulers and citizens keep them.
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Liberty and its limits
The Declaration defines liberty as freedom to do whatever does not harm others. Students can weigh this against older ideas of liberty as freedom to do what is good.
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- Jacobson v. Massachusetts, Lesson: Liberty under law
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Verified Quotes

“Men are born, and always continue, free and equal in respect of their Rights.”

— The National Constituent Assembly of France, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Article One, trans. Thomas Paine (1791).Quote card

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The Woman in White, Full Text
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“No Man ought to be molested on account of his opinions, not even on account of his Religious opinions, provided his avowal of them does not disturb the Public Order established by the Law.”

— The National Constituent Assembly of France, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Article Ten, trans. Thomas Paine (1791).Quote card

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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Summary

Top Lessons

Rights and their foundation

Words and deeds

Liberty and its limits

Verified Quotes