Declaration of the Rights of Man

Setting the scene

By 1789, France was bankrupt from wars and royal extravagance, with a rigid social structure of three estates: clergy (First), nobility (Second), and commoners (Third Estate, 98% of population). The Third Estate paid all taxes while the nobility was exempt. Inspired by American independence and Enlightenment ideas of Locke and Rousseau, commoners demanded reform. Louis XVI called the Estates-General in May 1789 for the first time since 1614 to raise taxes, but the Third Estate demanded voting by headcount, not by estate.

What happened

On June 20, the Third Estate, locked out of their meeting hall, took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing to write a constitution. On July 14, Parisians stormed the Bastille. On August 4, nobles renounced feudal privileges. On August 26, 1789, the National Constituent Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, drafted primarily by Lafayette and influenced by Jefferson. It proclaimed men are 'born and remain free and equal in rights,' with liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression as natural rights. It asserted sovereignty resides in the nation, law is the expression of general will, and freedom of speech and religion.

Why it still matters

The Declaration became the foundational document of the French Revolution and modern human rights. It abolished feudalism and aristocratic privilege, inspiring revolutions across Europe in 1848 and Latin America. Its principles were incorporated into the French constitutions of 1791, 1793, and 1958, and directly influenced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. However, its promise of equality excluded women (Olympe de Gouges wrote a Women's Rights version in 1791 and was executed) and enslaved people in French colonies, leading to the Haitian Revolution. The Declaration remains France's civil religion, inscribed in schools and cited in constitutional law.

Background

Its language influenced later rights documents worldwide.