Enlightenment Ideas: The French Revolution

Throughout the entirety of the French Revolution, enlightenment ideas were present in many of the actions taken by the revolutionaries but many actions were taken that were not consistent with enlightenment ideas. The enlightenment figures, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, spent their lives working to create reform that expressed their ideas, many of which were focused around reason, logic, and freedom of thought. Actions such as the passing of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the de-Christianization campaign both consisted with enlightenment ideas. The Terror, however, did not align with the ideas of the enlightenment thinkers but instead contrasted them by doing the complete opposite of what the thinkers originally

In this declaration all men were considered free and equal. Both freedom of religion and press were given as well as equality of taxation and equality before the law. Most importantly, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, established a policy known as national sovereignty. National sovereignty is the idea that the citizens have the power to directly elect their representatives which allows them to create and sustain the authority of the government. This declaration directly aligned with enlightenment ideas specifically those of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau published The Social Contract in 1762 and in it he laid out his ideas of political right and explained how the right kind could make people truly moral and free. He believed that, “A true and just society could never be based on sheer force, for right can never be equated with might.” which went right along with his belief of community needs over those of an individual. Clearly, the action of passing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was consistent with the ideas of Rousseau from the enlightenment because he believed in individuals entering into a social contract with other individuals rather than that of a ruler would allow people to be equally free and moral since they all consented to the laws. The declaration did just that: it laid out the ideas of national sovereignty, where individuals got to elect their representatives, as well as freedoms and equalities were written out. In the end, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen supported and were consistent with Rousseau’s enlightenment