Declaration of the rights of Man and of the Citizen - Wikipedia Declaration of the rights of Man and of the Citizen Not to be confused with Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793, a second declaration, written in 1793 but never formally adopted. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( French : Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen ), passed by France 's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is an important document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights. The Declaration was directly influenced by Thomas Jefferson, working with General Lafayette, who introduced it. Influenced also by the doctrine of `` natural right '', the rights of man are held to be universal : valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. It is included in the beginning of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic ( 1946 ) and Fifth Republic ( 1958 ) and is still current. Inspired by the Enlightenment philosophers, the Declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy in Europe and worldwide. The Declaration, together with Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, and the United States Bill of Rights, inspired in large part the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Contents 1 History 2 Philosophical and theoretical context 3 Substance 3.1 Active and passive citizenship 3.2 Women 's rights 3.3 Slavery 4 Legacy 4.1 Constitution of the French Fifth Republic 5 See also 5.1 Other early declarations of rights 6 Notes 7 References 7.1 Other languages 8 Further reading 9 External links History The content of the document emerged largely from the ideals of the Enlightenment. The key drafts were prepared by Lafayette, working at times with his close friend Thomas Jefferson. In August 1789, Honoré Mirabeau played a central role in conceptualizing and drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The last article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was adopted on 26 August 1789 by the National Constituent Assembly, during the period of the French Revolution, as the first step toward writing a constitution for France. Inspired by the Enlightenment, the original version of the Declaration was discussed by the representatives on the basis of a 24 article draft proposed by the sixth bureau, 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. Philosophical and theoretical context The concepts in the Declaration come from the philosophical and political duties of the Enlightenment, such as individualism, the social contract as theorized by the Genevan philosopher Rousseau, and the separation of powers espoused by the Baron de Montesquieu. As can be seen in the texts, the French declaration was heavily influenced by the political philosophy of the Enlightenment and principles of human rights as was the U.S. Declaration of Independence which preceded it ( 4 July 1776 ). The declaration is in the spirit of `` secular natural law '', which does not base itself on religious doctrine or authority, in contrast with traditional natural law theory, which does. The declaration defines a single set of individual and collective rights for all men. Influenced by the doctrine of natural rights, these rights are held to be universal and valid in all times and places. For example, `` Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. '' They have certain natural rights to property, to liberty, and to life. According to this theory, the role of government is to recognize and secure these rights. Furthermore, government should be carried on by elected representatives. At the time of writing, the rights contained in the declaration were only awarded to men. Furthermore, the declaration was a statement of vision rather than reality. The declaration was not deeply rooted in either the practice of the West or even France at the time. The declaration emerged in the late 18th century out of war and revolution. It encountered opposition as democracy and individual rights were frequently regarded as synonymous with anarchy and subversion. The declaration embodies ideals and aspirations towards which France pledged to struggle in the future. Substance The Declaration is introduced by a preamble describing the fundamental characteristics of the rights which are qualified as being `` natural, unalienable and sacred '' and consisting of `` simple and incontestable principles '' on which citizens could base their demands. In the second article, `` the natural and imprescriptible rights of man '' are defined as `` liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression ''. It called for the destruction of aristocratic privileges by proclaiming an end to feudalism and to exemptions from taxation, freedom and equal rights for all `` Men '', and access to public office based on talent. The monarchy was restricted, and all citizens were to have the right to take part in the legislative process. Freedom of speech and press were declared, and arbitrary arrests outlawed. The Declaration also asserted the principles of popular sovereignty, in contrast to the divine right of kings that characterized the French monarchy, and social equality among citizens, `` All the citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, 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, '' eliminating the special rights of the nobility and clergy. Articles : 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. No body, no individual can exert authority which does not emanate expressly from it. 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 which is not forbidden by the law can not 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. Article VII -- No man can be accused, arrested nor detained but in the cases determined by the law, and according to the forms which it has prescribed. Those who solicit, dispatch, carry out or cause to be carried out arbitrary orders, must be punished ; but any citizen called or seized under the terms of the law must obey at once ; he renders himself culpable by resistance. Article VIII -- The law should establish only penalties that are strictly and evidently necessary, and no one can be punished but under a law established and promulgated before the offense and legally applied. Article IX -- Any man being presumed innocent until he is declared culpable if it is judged indispensable to arrest him, any rigor which would not be necessary for the securing of his person must be severely reprimanded by the law. Article X -- No one may be disturbed for his opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not trouble the public order established by the law. Article XI -- The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man : any citizen thus may speak, write, print freely, except to respond to the abuse of this liberty, in the cases determined by the law. Article XII -- The guarantee of the rights of man and of the citizen necessitates a public force : this force is thus instituted for the advantage of all and not for the particular utility of those in whom it is trusted. Article XIII -- For the maintenance of the public force and for the expenditures of administration, a common contribution is indispensable ; it must be equally distributed to all the citizens, according to their ability to pay. Article XIV -- Each citizen has the right to ascertain, by himself or through his representatives, the need for a public tax, to consent to it freely, to know the uses to which it is put, and of determining the proportion, basis, collection, and duration. Article XV -- The society has the right of requesting an account from any public agent of its administration. Article XVI -- Any society in which the guarantee of rights is not assured, nor the separation of powers determined, has no Constitution. Article XVII -- Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of private usage, if it is not when the public necessity, legally noted, evidently requires it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity. Active and passive citizenship While the French Revolution provided rights to a larger portion of the population, there remained a distinction between those who obtained the political rights in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and those who did not. Those who were deemed to hold these political rights were called active citizens. Active citizenship was granted to men who were French, at least 25 years old, paid taxes equal to three days work, and could not be defined as servants ( Thouret ). This meant that at the time of the Declaration only male property owners held these rights. The deputies in the National Assembly believed that only those who held tangible interests in the nation could make informed political decisions. This distinction directly affects articles 6, 12, 14, and 15 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen as each of these rights is related to the right to vote and to participate actively in the government. With the decree of 29 October 1789, the term active citizen became embedded in French politics. The concept of passive citizens was created to encompass those populations that had been excluded from political rights in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Because of the requirements set down for active citizens, the vote was granted to approximately 4.3 million Frenchmen out of a population of around 29 million. These omitted groups included women, slaves, children, and foreigners. As these measures were voted upon by the General Assembly, they limited the rights of certain groups of citizens while implementing the democratic process of the new French Republic ( 1792 -- 1804 ). This legislation, passed in 1789, was amended by the creators of the Constitution of the Year III in order to eliminate the label of active citizen. The power to vote was then, however, to be granted solely to substantial property owners. Tensions arose between active and passive citizens throughout the Revolution. This happened when passive citizens started to call for more rights, or when they openly refused to listen to the ideals set forth by active citizens. This cartoon clearly demonstrates the difference that existed between the active and passive citizens along with the tensions associated with such differences. In the cartoon, a passive citizen is holding a spade and a wealthy landowning active citizen is ordering the passive citizens to go to work. The act appears condescending to the passive citizen and it revisits the reasons why the French Revolution began in the first place. Women, in particular, were strong passive citizens who played a significant role in the Revolution. Olympe de Gouges penned her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791 and drew attention to the need for gender equality. By supporting the ideals of the French Revolution and wishing to expand them to women, she represented herself as a revolutionary citizen. Madame Roland also established herself as an influential figure throughout the Revolution. She saw women of the French Revolution as holding three roles ; `` inciting revolutionary action, formulating policy, and informing others of revolutionary events. '' By working with men, as opposed to working separate from men, she may have been able to further the fight of revolutionary women. As players in the French Revolution, women occupied a significant role in the civic sphere by forming social movements and participating in popular clubs, allowing them societal influence, despite their lack of direct political influence. Women 's rights The Declaration recognized many rights as belonging to citizens ( who could only be male ). This was despite the fact that after The March on Versailles on 5 October 1789, women presented the Women 's Petition to the National Assembly in which they proposed a decree giving women equal rights. In 1790, Nicolas de Condorcet and Etta Palm d'Aelders unsuccessfully called on the National Assembly to extend civil and political rights to women. Condorcet declared that `` he who votes against the right of another, whatever the religion, color, or sex of that other, has henceforth abjured his own ''. The French Revolution did not lead to a recognition of women 's rights and this prompted Olympe de Gouges to publish the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in September 1791. The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen is modeled on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and is ironic in formulation and exposes the failure of the French Revolution, which had been devoted to equality. It states that : `` This revolution will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights, they have lost in society ''. The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen follows the seventeen articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen point for point and has been described by Camille Naish as `` almost a parody... of the original document ''. The first article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaims that `` Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on common utility. '' The first article of Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen replied : `` Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions may only be based on common utility ''. De Gouges also draws attention to the fact that under French law women were fully punishable, yet denied equal rights, declaring `` Women have the right to mount the scaffold, they must also have the right to mount the speaker 's rostrum ''. Slavery The declaration did not revoke the institution of slavery, as lobbied for by Jacques - Pierre Brissot 's Les Amis des Noirs and defended by the group of colonial planters called the Club Massiac because they met at the Hôtel Massiac. Despite the lack of explicit mention of slavery in the Declaration, slave uprisings in Saint - Domingue in the Haitian Revolution took inspiration from its words, as discussed in C.L.R. James ' history of the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins. Deplorable conditions for the thousands of slaves in Saint - Domingue, the most profitable slave colony in the world, led to the uprisings which would be known as the first successful slave revolt in the New World. Slavery in the French colonies was abolished by the Convention dominated by the Jacobins in 1794. However, Napoleon reinstated it in 1802. In 1804, the colony of Saint - Domingue became an independent state, the Republic of Haiti. Legacy This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) The Declaration has also influenced and inspired rights - based liberal democracy throughout the world. It was translated as soon as 1793 -- 1794 by Colombian Antonio Nariño, who published it despite the Inquisition and was sentenced to be imprisoned for ten years for doing so. In 2003, the document was listed on UNESCO 's Memory of the World register. Constitution of the French Fifth Republic Main article : Constitution of the French Fifth Republic According to the preamble of the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic ( adopted on 4 October 1958, and the current constitution ), the principles set forth in the Declaration have constitutional value. Many laws and regulations have been canceled because they did not comply with those principles as interpreted by the Conseil Constitutionnel ( `` Constitutional Council of France '' ) or by the Conseil d'État ( `` Council of State '' ). Taxation legislation or practices that seem to make some unwarranted difference between citizens are struck down as unconstitutional. Suggestions of positive discrimination on ethnic grounds are rejected because they infringe on the principle of equality since they would establish categories of people that would, by birth, enjoy greater rights. See also Human rights in France Universality Other early declarations of rights Magna Carta ( England, 1215 ) Statute of Kalisz ( Poland, 1264 ) Henrician Articles and Pacta Conventa ( Poland, 1573 ) Petition of Right ( England, 1628 ) Bill of Rights ( England, 1689 ) Claim of Right ( Scotland, 1689 ) Bill of Rights ( United States, 1789 ) Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of Franchimont ( modern - day Belgium, 1789 ) Notes Jump up ^ The French title can be also translated as `` Declaration of Human and Civic Rights ''. Jump up ^ Gregory Fremont - Barnes ( 2007 ). Encyclopedia of the Age of Political Revolutions and New Ideologies, 1760 - 1815. Greenwood. p. 190. Jump up ^ Kopstein Kopstein ( 2000 ). Comparative Politics : Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Cambridge UP. p. 72. Jump up ^ Douglas K. Stevenson ( 1987 ), American Life and Institutions, Stuttgart ( Germany ), p. 34 Jump up ^ Georges Lefebvre ( 2005 ). The Coming of the French Revolution. Princeton UP. p. 212. Jump up ^ George Athan Billias, ed. ( 2009 ). American Constitutionalism Heard Round the World, 1776 - 1989 : A Global Perspective. NYU Press. p. 92. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Susan Dunn, Sister Revolutions : French Lightning, American Light ( 1999 ) pp 143 - 45 Jump up ^ Keith Baker, `` The Idea of a Declaration of Rights '' in Dale Van Kley, ed. The French Idea of Freedom : The Old Regime and the Declaration of Rights of 1789 ( 1997 ) pp 154 - 96. Jump up ^ The original draft is an annex to the 12 August report ( Archives parlementaires, 1, série, tome VIII, débats du 12 août 1789, p. 431 ). Jump up ^ Archives parlementaires, 1 série, tome VIII, débats du 19 août 1789, p. 459. Jump up ^ Gregory Fremont - Barnes, ed. ( 2007 ). Encyclopedia of the Age of Political Revolutions and New Ideologies, 1760 - 1815. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 159 vol 1. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) ^ Jump up to : Merryman, John Henry ; Rogelip Perez - Perdomo ( 2007 ). The civil law tradition : an introduction to the legal system of Europe and Latin America. Stanford University Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780804755696. Jump up ^ First Article, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Jump up ^ Lauren, Paul Gordon ( 2003 ). The evolution of international human rights : visions seen. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 32. ISBN 9780812218541. Jump up ^ Spielvogel, Jackson J. ( 2008 ). Western Civilization : 1300 to 1815. Wadsworth Publishing. p. 580. ISBN 978 - 0 - 495 - 50289 - 0. Jump up ^ von Guttner, Darius ( 2015 ). The French Revolution. Nelson Cengage. pp. 85 -- 88. Jump up ^ Thouret 1789, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/282/ Jump up ^ Censer and Hunt 2001, p. 55. ^ Jump up to : Popkin 2006, p. 46. ^ Jump up to : Doyle 1989, p. 124. Jump up ^ `` Social Causes of the Revolution '' ^ Jump up to : Doyle 1989, p. 420. Jump up ^ `` Active / Passive Citizen '', http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/75/. Jump up ^ De Gouges, `` Declaration of the Rights of Women '', 1791. Jump up ^ Dalton 2001, p. 1. Jump up ^ Levy and Applewhite 2002, pp. 319 -- 20, 324. Jump up ^ Women 's Petition to the National Assembly Jump up ^ Williams, Helen Maria ; Neil Fraistat ; Susan Sniader Lanser ; David Brookshire ( 2001 ). Letters written in France. Broadview Press Ltd. p. 246. ISBN 978 - 1 - 55111 - 255 - 8. Jump up ^ Lauren, Paul Gordon ( 2003 ). The evolution of international human rights. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 18 -- 20. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8122 - 1854 - 1. Jump up ^ Naish, Camille ( 1991 ). Death comes to the maiden : Sex and Execution, 1431 -- 1933. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 05585 - 7. Jump up ^ Naish, Camille ( 1991 ). Death comes to the maiden : Sex and Execution, 1431 -- 1933. Routledge. p. 137. ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 05585 - 7. Jump up ^ The club of reactionary colonial proprietors meeting since July 1789 were opposed to representation in the Assemblée of France 's overseas dominions, for fear `` that this would expose delicate colonial issues to the hazards of debate in the Assembly '', as Robin Blackburn expressed it ( Blackburn, The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery, 1776 -- 1848 ( 1988 : 174f ) ) ; see also the speech of Jean - Baptiste Belley Jump up ^ Cf. Heinrich August Winkler ( 2012 ), Geschichte des Westens. Von den Anfängen in der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Third Edition, Munich ( Germany ), p. 386 References Jack Censer and Lynn Hunt, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity : Exploring the French Revolution, University Park : Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. Susan Dalton, Gender and the Shifting Ground of Revolutionary Politics : The Case of Madame Roland, Canadian Journal of History, 36, no. 2 ( 2001 ) : 259 -- 83. William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1989. Darline Levy and Harriet Applewhite, A Political Revolution for Women ? The Case of Paris, In The French Revolution : conflicting interpretations. 5th ed. Malabar, Fla. : Krieger Pub. Co., 2002. 317 -- 46. Jeremy Popkin, A History of Modern France, Upper Saddle River : Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. `` Active Citizen / Passive Citizen '', Liberty, Equality, Fraternity : Exploring the French Revolution ( accessed 30 October 2011 ). Other languages Giorgio Del Vecchio, La déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen dans la Révolution française : contributions à l'histoire de la civilisation européenne, Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence, Paris, 1968. Stéphane Rials, ed, La déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen, Hachette, Paris, 1988, ISBN 2 - 01 - 014671 - 9. Claude - Albert Colliard, La déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, La Documentation française, Paris, 1990, ISBN 2 - 11 - 002329 - 5. Gérard Conac, Marc Debene, Gérard Teboul, eds, La Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789 ; histoire, analyse et commentaires, Economica, Paris, 1993, ISBN 978 - 2 - 7178 - 2483 - 4. Realino Marra, La giustizia penale nei princìpi del 1789, `` Materiali per una storia della cultura giuridica '', XXXI -- 2, 2001, 353 -- 64. Further reading Blackburn, Robin ( October 2006 ) `` Haiti, Slavery, and the Age of the Democratic Revolution '' The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 63, No. 4, Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, pp. 643 -- 74. Dittrich, Horst, actor, and translator ( 2012 ). Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen translated into Austrian übertragen, edited by ARBOS -- Company for Music and Theatre, ISBN 978 - 3 - 9503173 - 2 - 9, ARBOS - Edition 2012 Kates, Gary and Hufton, Olwen. ( 1998 ) `` In Search of Counter-Revolutionary Women. '' The French Revolution : Recent Debates and New Controversies. London : Routledge McLean, Iain. `` Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen '' in The Future of Liberal Democracy : Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World ( Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 ) online Smith, George H. ( 2008 ). `` Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ''. In Hamowy, Ronald. The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE ; Cato Institute. pp. 115 -- 17. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4129 - 6580 - 4. LCCN 2008009151. OCLC 750831024. doi : 10.4135 / 9781412965811. n73. Wallerstein, Immanuel ( 2003 ). `` Citizens all ? Citizens some ! The making of the citizen ''. Comparative Studies in Society and History 45, ( 4 ) : 650 External links Find more aboutDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizenat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Learning resources from Wikiversity Works related to Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen at Wikisource Frank Maloy Anderson The Constitutions and other select documents illustrative of the History of France, 1789 - 1907 contains the text of the rights of man on page 59 Jacques - Guillaume Thouret, `` Report on the Basis of Political Eligibility '' ( 29 September 1789 ), Liberty, Equality, Fraternity : Exploring the French Revolution, accessed 26 October 2011. Olympe de Gouges, Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791, College of Staten Island Library ( accessed 30 October 2011 ). < link is broken > `` Social Causes of the Revolution ''. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity : Exploring the French Revolution, accessed 26 October 2011. `` Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen de 1789 ''. Conseil constitutionnel ( in French ). Retrieved 14 May 2012. `` Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen de 1789 ''. Légifrance ( in French ). Retrieved 14 May 2012. `` Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen de 1789 ''. Ministère de la Justice et des Libertés : TEXTES & RÉFORMES ( in French ). Retrieved 14 May 2012. `` Declaration of human and civic rights of 26 August 1789 '' ( PDF ). Conseil constitutionnel. Retrieved 14 May 2012. French Revolution Causes Timeline Ancien Régime Revolution Constitutional monarchy Republic Directory Consulate Glossary Significant civil and political events by year 1788 Day of the Tiles ( 7 Jun 1788 ) Assembly of Vizille ( 21 Jul 1788 ) 1789 What Is the Third Estate ? ( Jan 1789 ) Réveillon riots ( 28 Apr 1789 ) Convocation of the Estates - General ( 5 May 1789 ) National Assembly ( 17 Jun -- 9 Jul 1790 ) Tennis Court Oath ( 20 Jun 1789 ) National Constituent Assembly ( 9 Jul -- 30 Sep 1791 ) Storming of the Bastille ( 14 Jul 1789 ) Great Fear ( 20 Jul -- 5 Aug 1789 ) Abolition of Feudalism ( 4 - 11 Aug 1789 ) Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 27 Aug 1789 ) Women 's March on Versailles ( 5 Oct 1789 ) 1790 Abolition of the Parlements ( Feb -- Jul 1790 ) Abolition of the Nobility ( 19 Jun 1790 ) Civil Constitution of the Clergy ( 12 Jul 1790 ) 1791 Flight to Varennes ( 20 -- 21 Jun 1791 ) Champ de Mars Massacre ( 17 Jul 1791 ) Declaration of Pillnitz ( 27 Aug 1791 ) The Constitution of 1791 ( 3 Sep 1791 ) Legislative Assembly ( 1 Oct 1791 -- Sep 1792 ) 1792 France declares war ( 20 Apr 1792 ) Brunswick Manifesto ( 25 Jul 1792 ) Paris Commune becomes insurrectionary ( Jun 1792 ) 10th of August ( 10 Aug 1792 ) September Massacres ( Sep 1792 ) National Convention ( 20 Sep 1792 -- 26 Oct 1795 ) First republic declared ( 22 Sep 1792 ) 1793 Execution of Louis XVI ( 21 Jan 1793 ) Revolutionary Tribunal ( 9 Mar 1793 -- 31 May 1795 ) Reign of Terror ( 27 Jun 1793 -- 27 Jul 1794 ) Committee of Public Safety Committee of General Security Fall of the Girondists ( 2 Jun 1793 ) Assassination of Marat ( 13 Jul 1793 ) Levée en masse ( 23 Aug 1793 ) The Death of Marat ( painting ) Law of Suspects ( 17 Sep 1793 ) Marie Antoinette is guillotined ( 16 Oct 1793 ) Anti-clerical laws ( throughout the year ) 1794 Danton and Desmoulins guillotined ( 5 Apr 1794 ) Law of 22 Prairial ( 10 Jun 1794 ) Thermidorian Reaction ( 27 Jul 1794 ) Robespierre guillotined ( 28 Jul 1794 ) White Terror ( Fall 1794 ) Closing of the Jacobin Club ( 11 Nov 1794 ) 1795 Constitution of the Year III ( 22 Aug 1795 ) Conspiracy of the Equals ( Nov 1795 ) Directoire ( 1795 -- 99 ) Council of Five Hundred Council of Ancients 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor ( 4 Sep 1797 ) Second Congress of Rastatt ( Dec 1797 ) 1799 Coup of 30 Prairial VII ( 18 Jun 1799 ) Coup of 18 Brumaire ( 9 Nov 1799 ) Constitution of the Year VIII ( 24 Dec 1799 ) Consulate Revolutionary campaigns 1792 Verdun Thionville Valmy Royalist Revolts Chouannerie Vendée Dauphiné Lille Siege of Mainz Jemappes Namur ( fr ) 1793 First Coalition Siege of Toulon ( 18 Sep -- 18 Dec 1793 ) War in the Vendée Battle of Neerwinden ) Battle of Famars ( 23 May 1793 ) Expédition de Sardaigne ( 21 Dec 1792 - 25 May 1793 ) Battle of Kaiserslautern Siege of Mainz Battle of Wattignies Battle of Hondschoote Siege of Bellegarde Battle of Peyrestortes ( Pyrenees ) First Battle of Wissembourg ( 13 Oct 1793 ) Battle of Truillas ( Pyrenees ) Second Battle of Wissembourg ( 26 -- 27 Dec 1793 ) 1794 Battle of Villers - en - Cauchies ( 24 Apr 1794 ) Battle of Boulou ( Pyrenees ) ( 30 Apr -- 1 May 1794 ) Battle of Tournay ( 22 May 1794 ) Battle of Fleurus ( 26 Jun 1794 ) Chouannerie Battle of Tourcoing ( 18 May 1794 ) Battle of Aldenhoven ( 2 Oct 1794 ) 1795 Peace of Basel 1796 Battle of Lonato ( 3 -- 4 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Castiglione ( 5 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Theiningen Battle of Neresheim ( 11 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Amberg ( 24 Aug 1796 ) Battle of Würzburg ( 3 Sep 1796 ) Battle of Rovereto ( 4 Sep 1796 ) First Battle of Bassano ( 8 Sep 1796 ) Battle of Emmendingen ( 19 Oct 1796 ) Battle of Schliengen ( 26 Oct 1796 ) Second Battle of Bassano ( 6 Nov 1796 ) Battle of Calliano ( 6 -- 7 Nov 1796 ) Battle of the Bridge of Arcole ( 15 -- 17 Nov 1796 ) The Ireland Expedition ( Dec 1796 ) 1797 Naval Engagement off Brittany ( 13 Jan 1797 ) Battle of Rivoli ( 14 -- 15 Jan 1797 ) Battle of the Bay of Cádiz ( 25 Jan 1797 ) Treaty of Leoben ( 17 Apr 1797 ) Battle of Neuwied ( 18 Apr 1797 ) Treaty of Campo Formio ( 17 Oct 1797 ) 1798 French invasion of Switzerland ( 28 January -- 17 May 1798 ) French Invasion of Egypt ( 1798 -- 1801 ) Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( 23 May -- 23 Sep 1798 ) Quasi-War ( 1798 -- 1800 ) Peasants ' War ( 12 Oct -- 5 Dec 1798 ) 1799 Second Coalition ( 1798 -- 1802 ) Siege of Acre ( 20 Mar -- 21 May 1799 ) Battle of Ostrach ( 20 -- 21 Mar 1799 ) Battle of Stockach ( 25 Mar 1799 ) Battle of Magnano ( 5 Apr 1799 ) Battle of Cassano ( 27 Apr 1799 ) First Battle of Zurich ( 4 -- 7 Jun 1799 ) Battle of Trebbia ( 19 Jun 1799 ) Battle of Novi ( 15 Aug 1799 ) Second Battle of Zurich ( 25 -- 26 Sep 1799 ) 1800 Battle of Marengo ( 14 Jun 1800 ) Battle of Hohenlinden ( 3 Dec 1800 ) League of Armed Neutrality ( 1800 -- 02 ) 1801 Treaty of Lunéville ( 9 Feb 1801 ) Treaty of Florence ( 18 Mar 1801 ) Algeciras Campaign ( 8 Jul 1801 ) 1802 Treaty of Amiens ( 25 Mar 1802 ) Military leaders French Army Eustache Charles d'Aoust Pierre Augereau Alexandre de Beauharnais Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte Louis - Alexandre Berthier Jean - Baptiste Bessières Guillaume - Marie - Anne Brune Jean François Carteaux Jean Étienne Championnet Chapuis de Tourville Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine Louis - Nicolas Davout Louis Desaix Jacques François Dugommier Thomas - Alexandre Dumas Charles François Dumouriez Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino Louis - Charles de Flers Paul Grenier Emmanuel de Grouchy Jacques Maurice Hatry Lazare Hoche Jean - Baptiste Jourdan François Christophe de Kellermann Jean - Baptiste Kléber Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Jean Lannes Charles Leclerc Claude Lecourbe François Joseph Lefebvre Jacques MacDonald Jean - Antoine Marbot Jean Baptiste de Marbot François Séverin Marceau - Desgraviers Auguste de Marmont André Masséna Bon - Adrien Jeannot de Moncey Jean Victor Marie Moreau Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise Joachim Murat Michel Ney Pierre - Jacques Osten ( fr ) Nicolas Oudinot Catherine - Dominique de Pérignon Jean - Charles Pichegru Józef Poniatowski Laurent de Gouvion Saint - Cyr Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier Joseph Souham Jean - de-Dieu Soult Louis - Gabriel Suchet Belgrand de Vaubois Claude Victor - Perrin, Duc de Belluno French Navy Charles - Alexandre Linois Opposition Austria József Alvinczi Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Count of Clerfayt ( Walloon ) Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze ( Swiss ) Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth Pál Kray ( Hungarian ) Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc ( French ) Maximilian Baillet de Latour ( Walloon ) Karl Mack von Leiberich Rudolf Ritter von Otto ( Saxon ) Prince Josias of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss - Plauen Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló ( Hungarian ) Karl Philipp Sebottendorf Dagobert von Wurmser Britain Sir Ralph Abercromby Admiral Sir James Saumarez Admiral Sir Edward Pellew Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Dutch Republic William V, Prince of Orange Prussia Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe - Ingelfingen Russia Alexander Korsakov Alexander Suvorov Spain Luis Firmin de Carvajal Antonio Ricardos Other significant figures and factions Society of 1789 Jean Sylvain Bailly Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld - Liancourt Isaac René Guy le Chapelier Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Charles - Maurice de Talleyrand - Périgord Nicolas de Condorcet Feuillants and monarchiens Madame de Lamballe Madame du Barry Louis de Breteuil Loménie de Brienne Charles Alexandre de Calonne de Chateaubriand Jean Chouan Grace Elliott Arnaud de La Porte Jean - Sifrein Maury Jacques Necker François - Marie, marquis de Barthélemy Guillaume - Mathieu Dumas Antoine Barnave Lafayette Alexandre - Théodore - Victor, comte de Lameth Charles Malo François Lameth André Chénier Jean - François Rewbell Camille Jordan Madame de Staël Boissy d'Anglas Jean - Charles Pichegru Pierre Paul Royer - Collard Girondists Jacques Pierre Brissot Roland de La Platière Madame Roland Father Henri Grégoire Étienne Clavière Marquis de Condorcet Charlotte Corday Marie Jean Hérault Jean Baptiste Treilhard Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve Jean Debry Jean - Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil Olympe de Gouges Jean - Baptiste Robert Lindet Louis Marie de La Révellière - Lépeaux The Plain Abbé Sieyès de Cambacérès Charles François Lebrun Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot Philippe Égalité Louis Philippe I Mirabeau Antoine Christophe Merlin de Thionville Jean Joseph Mounier Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours François de Neufchâteau Montagnards Maximilien Robespierre Georges Danton Jean - Paul Marat Camille Desmoulins Louis Antoine de Saint - Just Paul Nicolas, vicomte de Barras Louis Philippe I Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint - Fargeau Jacques - Louis David Marquis de Sade Jacques - Louis David Georges Couthon Roger Ducos Jean - Marie Collot d'Herbois Jean - Henri Voulland Philippe - Antoine Merlin de Douai Antoine Quentin Fouquier - Tinville Philippe - François - Joseph Le Bas Marc - Guillaume Alexis Vadier Jean - Pierre - André Amar Prieur de la Côte - d'Or Prieur de la Marne Gilbert Romme Jean Bon Saint - André Jean - Lambert Tallien Pierre Louis Prieur Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac Antoine Christophe Saliceti Hébertists and Enragés Jacques Hébert Jacques Nicolas Billaud - Varenne Pierre Gaspard Chaumette Charles - Philippe Ronsin Antoine - François Momoro François - Nicolas Vincent François Chabot Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte Jean - Baptiste - Joseph Gobel François Hanriot Jacques Roux Stanislas - Marie Maillard Charles - Philippe Ronsin Jean - François Varlet Theophile Leclerc Claire Lacombe Pauline Léon Gracchus Babeuf Sylvain Maréchal Others Charles X Louis XVI Louis XVII Louis XVIII Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien Louis Henri, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Marie Antoinette Napoléon Bonaparte Lucien Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Fesch Joséphine de Beauharnais Joachim Murat Jean Sylvain Bailly Jacques - Donatien Le Ray Guillaume - Chrétien de Malesherbes Talleyrand Thérésa Tallien Gui - Jean - Baptiste Target Catherine Théot List of people associated with the French Revolution Influential thinkers Les Lumières Beaumarchais Edmund Burke Anacharsis Cloots Charles - Augustin de Coulomb Pierre Claude François Daunou Diderot Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson Antoine Lavoisier Montesquieu Thomas Paine Jean - Jacques Rousseau Abbé Sieyès Voltaire Mary Wollstonecraft Cultural impact La Marseillaise French Tricolour Liberté, égalité, fraternité Marianne Bastille Day Panthéon French Republican Calendar Cult of the Supreme Being Cult of Reason Temple of Reason Sans - culottes Metric system Phrygian cap Women in the French Revolution Symbolism in the French Revolution Historiography of the French Revolution Influence of the French Revolution Human rights Children 's Intersex Men 's Women 's Fundamental concepts and philosophies Natural law Positive law Sovereignty Universal jurisdiction Distinctions Claim rights and liberty rights Individual and group rights Natural and legal rights Negative and positive rights Aspects Corporal punishment Organizations List of human rights organisations of national human rights institutions By continent Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Category : Rights Portal : Human rights Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → George Mason United States Founding events Drafted, 1769 Virginia Association resolutions Primary author, 1774 Fairfax Resolves Primary author, 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights `` All men are created equal '' Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness Freedom of the press Freedom of religion Consent of the governed Baseless search and seizure Cruel and unusual punishments Speedy trial 1776 Virginia Constitution 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Ratifying Convention Co-father, United States Bill of Rights history Founding Father Writings inspired 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( France ) 1789 United States Bill of Rights Life Chopawamsic plantation Gunston Hall On slavery Ohio Company Legacy George Mason Memorial George Mason University George Mason Stadium George Mason Memorial Bridge George Mason High School 18 - cent postage stamp Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Revolution patriots Wilson v. Mason Hollin Hall Woodbridge plantation Mason 's Island Family George Mason V ( son ) William Mason ( son ) Thomson Mason ( son ) John Mason ( son ) Thomas Mason ( son ) George Mason III ( father ) Thomson Mason ( brother ) George Mason II ( grandfather ) Constitutions of France 1791 1793 ( Year I ) 1795 ( Year III ) 1799 ( Year VIII ) 1802 ( Year X ) 1804 ( Year XII ) 1814 1815 1830 1848 1852 1875 1940 1945 1946 1958 ( Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ∙ Charter for the Environment ) Proposed : Girondin constitutional project ( 1793 ) VIAF : 185684735 LCCN : no90010771 GND : 4200626 - 0 Human rights portal Law portal France portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Man_and_of_the_Citizen&oldid=804997605 '' Categories : 1789 in law 1789 events of the French Revolution French law Human rights instruments Human rights in France Government of France Memory of the World Register Political charters History of human rights Popular sovereignty Age of Enlightenment 18th century in Paris 1789 documents Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Use dmy dates from October 2015 Articles containing French - language text All Wikipedia articles needing clarification Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2014 Articles needing additional references from August 2017 All articles needing additional references CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Interlanguage link template link number Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Wikisource Alemannisch Asturianu Беларуская Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Македонски മലയാളം مصرى Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 October 2017, at 12 : 20. 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Question: what is the purpose of the declaration of the rights of man
Answer: a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy in Europe and worldwide