Title: PDP of Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789
Author Biography: n/a: As this is a legal document written by the people of France and an author is not provided.
Date/Context: This article was written in 1789, the year the French Revolution began. The French Revolution began as a series of mobs in Paris due to the new tax that the king had instated, which in turn caused people to panic and for the crops to fail and a shortage of food to occur. A National Assembly was called, which created the document that is the topic of this article analysis.
Summary: The article states that it was created by representatives of the French population, which have come together to declare the rights of all citizens of France. These rights are that all men are born equal, and are equal in the eyes of the law as well. Punishments are not excessive for the crime and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Freedom of speech and religious views are considered sacred rights of men, and citizens are allowed to have a say in political matters.
Analysis: The rights in the article seem similar to the rights of American people. I believe that the French citizens were probably happy with the rights determined by the National Assembly. However, as this article was written in the year that the French Revolution began, some of these rights were probably not followed, as a revolution would have meant chaos and order of law would have been impossible. Also, a revolution would have meant unrest with the government, and possibly a corrupt government. That being said, at the time I believe that these rights were a good addition to political aspect of France.
Quotation: "The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly...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"
The context portion of this post not only describes events that relate to the creation of this constitution, but also the reason why the people of France felt that it was necessary. In addition, the details in the summary provide good support for the comparison between declarations in this constitution and those of the American Constitution. The analysis also makes many logical assumptions concerning the political unrest present during the revolution. However some assumptions, such as the satisfaction of citizens in regard to this constitution, are only partially correct. Although the writers of this document were likely pleased, there were still large numbers of impoverished peasants that were displeased. Moreover, I agree that there is no single author and that the writers cannot be addressed as such, however I suggest that the reliability and bias of the group as a whole be included in this description. Lastly, there are clear points that describe why this constitution may not have been honored, but I believe that it would also be beneficial to explore how these declarations may have been used to keep the wealthy citizens in power.
ReplyDeleteThe Marquis de Lafayette is credited as the author of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. It is also important to consider the influence of the Enlightenment.
ReplyDelete