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Declaration Of The Rights Of Man Essay

1254 Words6 Pages

Based on the Enlightenment concepts of equality and individual liberty, the newly formed National Assembly began to write The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was built on Enlightenment ideas, as a precursor to drafting a constitution. Furthermore, this declaration refrained from mentioning the King which concurred with de Montesquieu’s theory of separation of powers, which was a recent perspective on how to run a government. Correspondingly, many Enlightenment ideas were presented in the declaration including no taxation without representation, freedom of the press, and several defenses against unsupported government regulations. The leaders of the French Revolution, who now controlled the National Assembly’s …show more content…

In the Ancient Regime, The Catholic Church was the only allowed religion. So, in The Rights of Man, the revolutionaries made sure to include that people could be free to worship as they pleased. The declaration states, “No one should be disturbed for his opinions, even religion, provided that their manifestation does not trouble public order as established by law.” This edict now allowed for religious freedom and no one had to worship in secret any longer. The young visionaries of the French Revolution were in particular aware of the French Protestants, who had been forced to hide their beliefs and sometimes lost their homes and land. The consciousness of intolerance towards non-Catholics had caused Enlightenment thinkers to address religious persecution. In fact, after the Edict of Nantes, Voltaire had waged war against religious intoleration. For this reason, the young leaders were filled with Voltaire’s vision for religious tolerance and believed in a universe based on logic, and respect for nature and that superstition is

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(Montesquieu, Book XI, Ch.4). Charles’ ideas inspired the French to create the Declaration of the Rights of Man and to make a better government after overthrowing the monarchy. Montesquieu also influenced the American Revolution in a massive way. He warned, “Were the executive power not to have a right or restraining the encroachments of the legislative body, the latter would become despotic; for as it might arrogate to itself what authority it pleased, it would soon destroy all the other powers.” The Founding Fathers took his advice on the separation of powers when drafting the Constitution.

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1213 Words | 5 Pages

The American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of Rights of Man and citizen were ideas for democracy, freedoms, and liberty for its citizens. although each declaration was created for different goals and measures, each has similarities and differences affecting political structure and the freedoms of the people of which each document represented. These declarations were both influenced by Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers, where they acknowledge the Laws of Nature and in the Declaration of Independence also specifies Nature’ of God’s entitlements. Both declarations stress that all men are equal, however worded differently and viewed differently from each countries beliefs and evaluation of the documents. These declarations

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810 Words | 4 Pages

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2310 Words | 10 Pages

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