The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is a combination of the general statements about human rights and statements on what the government should and should not do. The representatives of the French people believe that the rights of man are the reason for the public disasters and the corruption of the government. Therefore, the National Assembly declared the following rights of man and of the citizen: Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. The rights of liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression are imprescriptible. The law is the voice of the general will. No one is silence or disturb by their opinion or religious view. Communication of ideas and opinion
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Locke’s idea proposed the natural rights, which are life, liberty, and property. He stated this for people to set up civil government to protect their natural rights. Similar to what Locke proposed, the declaration used a comparable statement when it said, “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.” Another Enlightenment thinker is Voltaire. Stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, article eleven states, “The free communication of ideas and opinion 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 abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.” This shows freedom of press, expression, and thought. This idea was taken from the Enlightenment thinker, Voltaire, who the idea of freedom of thought and expression originated from. Rousseau’s idea was also found in the document. His Social Contract claimed that the general will is sacred and absolute, and it reflects the common interests of all the people. Used in the document, it said that the law is the expression of the general will, and the right to participate in the law’s formation. The most common interest of all the people in the
Unlike the American constitution, which only applied to Americans, and only a small percentage of them, the Rights of Man was a universal document that applied to everyone, including (despite its name) women. The first article of the Declaration states, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights,” immediately putting forth their stance on equal rights. Later, the Declaration goes on to state that “All the citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places and employments.” This further exemplifies the equality in France because not only were all citizens considered equal in the eyes of their government and leaders, the declaration aimed to make sure that they were also treated equally by their fellow citizens. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was ahead of its time, introducing ideas of equality also seen 150 years later, when the United Nation released the Universal Declaration of Human
On the contrary, others may argue that the French Revolution did fulfill the ideas of the enlightenment. Those in opposition, claim that the age of enlightenment provided people with equal rights, promising ideas of life,liberty and property. For instance, according to “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen” it states, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. The purpose of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man.
One of the biggest influences that John Locke had on President Jefferson was, what John Locke dubbed, “Natural Rights,” and what Jefferson called, “Unalienable Rights.” Meaning practically the same thing, these rights were very similar, and it is obvious that Jefferson’s version derives from Locke’s ‘Natural Rights.’ John Locke’s version stated that all peoples shall possess the following rights: Life, Liberty, and Property. In this case, life means, that people people will fight to live and want to survive. Liberty refers to being free, and being able to make one’s own decision.
On December 9, 1948, as the United States was approaching a proposal towards the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which seemed unfair and uncompromised, first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt displayed a motivational and moving speech to allow the citizens of America to come together as one to make the best of the situation that was proposed in front of them. The analysis of the tingling speech on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will explore the deep rhetorical devices used to compel the audience and America, including the true purpose and background of this particular eye-opening speech. In paragraph 1, it reads, “Not every man nor every government can have what he wants in a document of this kind. There are of course particular provisions in the Declaration before us with which we are not fully satisfied.”
Locke’s ideas from the Two Treatises of Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, were based upon the natural rights where power comes from the people. Both of his pieces contributed to revolutions, most importantly the American Revolution as power from monarchies was removed and democracies were created. Allowed for limited government power and all obligations were to the citizens. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding basis was on how the knowledge existence of God, certain moral truths, and laws of logic or mathematics pertained to the natural rights of
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
Enlightened thinkers such as Locke gave the ideas that it was the government's job to protect the people life, liberty, and property. These enlightened thinkers
The two documents that will be viewed is the United States’ Declaration of Independence and France’s Declaration of the Rights of Men and Citizen on what they are, what they do, and how they compare. Both are very important historical documents that molded France and the United States into the countries they are today. Learning about these documents is just learning more about how our home countries came to be and have achieved their greatness. The Declaration of The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen stands for the common people’s freedom such as religion, speech, and equality.
Locke is a founder of the Common Sense pamphlet. He believed in government ruled by people. “He expressed the radical view that government is morally obliged to serve people, namely by protecting life, liberty, and property. He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law.
The five overarching ideas introduced by the Declaration of Independence are: a) All people are equal b) They are endowed with rights that cannot be taken away. c) These rights include life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. d) People from governments to protect those rights. e) Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
Consequently, a limited government was created in response to these new thoughts. Furthermore, this new type of government was extremely revolutionary because it changed the way that the citizens had thought or viewed about the government. Two Enlightenment philosophers that influenced the creation of the government were John Locke and Montesquieu. John Locke had the belief that everyone had natural rights (life, liberty, property) and that if the government failed to protect these rights, they could be overthrown and replaced. Also, Montesquieu’s idea of the separation of powers helped shape the government.
The Declaration of Independence states: “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence is a written version of our rights as humans in America. It is saying that every person is equal, with equal opportunities. The people are given rights at birth that can not be taken away. The document gives all the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as basic human rights.
Enlightened thought presented by Locke outlined the formation for a new government that served the people of the nation, restoring their rights and liberties, rather than just the
Thomas Paine essentially wrote Common Sense for the common man. Being a pamphlet, its structure and simplicity made reading easy for those who were literate. Its minimalism enabled citizens in the colonies to unite under one common cause — independence against Britain. He was inspired by both John Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government as well as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s
I agree that the Enlightenment was force for positive change in society. The Enlightenment was one was the most important intellectual movements in History, as it dominated and influenced the way people thought in Europe in the late 17th and 18th centuries. We will look at how it ultimately influenced the American and French Revolution which is still strongly governed by these ideas and principles today. The Age of Enlightenment was a European movement which emphasizing reasoning and individualism in preference to tradition.