PS from A
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
On August 27,
1789, the National Assembly of France adopted a revolutionary document.
A Declaration of the RIghts of Man and of the Citizen. As you read
this portion of the document, consider the rights it guaranteed to French
citizens.
The representatives of the French people,
organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect,
or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities
and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a
solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man,
in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members
of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties.....Therefore
the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under
the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the
citizen:
| Article 1. Men are born
and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded
only upon the general good. |
| 2. The aim of all political
association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights
of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance
to oppression.... |
| 4. Liberty consists in the freedom
to do every thing which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the
natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the
other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These
limits can only be determined by law. |
| 5. Law can only prohibit such
actions as are hurtful to society..... |
| 6. Law is the expression of
the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally,
or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the
same for all, whether it protects or punishes..... |
| 7. No person shall be accused,
arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms
prescribed by law... But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of
the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense. |
| 8. The law shall provide for
such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one
shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law
passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense. |
| 9. As all persons are held innocent
until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable,
all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall
be severely repressed by law. |
| 10. No one shall be disquieted
on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their
manifestation does no disturb the public order established by law. |
| 11. The free communication of
ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man.
Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but
shall be responsible for such abused of this freedom as shall be defined
by law... |
| 13. A common contribution is
essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of
administration. This should be equitably distributed among all citizens
in proportion to their means..... |
| 17. Since property is an inviolable
and sacred right no on shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity,
legally determined shall clearly demand it and then only on condition that
the owner shall have been previously and equitable indemnified. |
from Milton Viorst, The Great Documents of Western Civilization
(New York: Bantam, 1965) 185-188
1. Clarifying: Use
the Internet or another source to find out more about the declaration.
Who wrote it? What American document was a model for the French declaration?
2. Comparing: Read
the English Bill of Rights and the American Declaration of Independence.
Then make a chart listing similarities to the French declaration.
Share you chart with the class.
3. Drawing Conclusions:
What provisions of the declaration forbid conditions that existed under
the Old Regime? Consider especially the tax system and the division
of society