Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Citizen Essay

After the National Assembly abolished the feudal system in France, they “decided that France would henceforth be a community of legally equal citizens” (Popkin, “French Revolution”, p.31). On August 27, 1789, the National Assembly created the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen”. The purpose of this document was to cast off the feudal system and usher in a new system that would be more fair to all citizens of France. This is evidenced in article 1 of the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” that states “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” (Popkin, “French Revolution”, p.31). There was an implication in the Declaration that “the hierarchies of power and privilege that had structured French society would cease

Jacques-Guillaume Thouret wrote the “Report on the Basis of Political Eligibility” which was a foundation for the set of qualifications a person would have to possess to be considered an active citizen of France. Such qualifications a person has to have to be an active citizen and subsequently to have the right to vote and hold public office, as Thouret outlines, are “(1) to be French or have become French ; (2) to have reached one’s majority [be a legal adult; the age was set at 25] ; (3) to have resided in the canton for at least one year; (4) pay direct taxes at a rate equal to the local value of three days work, a value that will be assessed in monetary terms by the provincial assemblies; (5) to not be at the moment a servant” (Thouret, “Basis of Political Eligibilty”, p.82). The qualifications though were only meant for men because the number of active citizens were made up “with deductions made for women, minors, and all those deprived of political rights for legitimate reasons” (Thouret, “Basis of Political Eligibilty”, p.82). Maximilien Robespierre and the Marquis of Condorcet both disagreed with these qualifications that were set forth by the National