The Rights of One Man Are Not the Right of Another

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The Rights of One Man Are Not the Right of Another
In the late seventeen hundreds the French population was on the verge of a revolution. Under the rule of King Louis XVI the French people became increasingly frustrated as they suffered from an economic crisis following the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolutionary War, coupled with growing Enlightenment ideals, the French Revolution began in May of 1789. During this time the French population wanted equality among all people, not just the wealthy. On August 26, 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted. However, playwright and women’s activist, Olympe de Gouges was not satisfied with the terminology and in September 1791, after the denial of women’s rights in 1790, she published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen. The Marquis de Lafayette and Olympe de Gouges declarations share many similarities and differences all of which will be discussed in this essay.
On August 26, 1789 the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, written by The Marquis de Lafayette with help from Thomas Jefferson, was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly. This document contains seventeen articles that “…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; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon si...

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...ale Citizen however; balances the tables and brings light to the discrimination facing women during that time. Both these documents were published in a momentous time, during the French Revolution. While tyranny followed in the latter years of the French Revolution with Napoleon Bonaparte equality would soon emerge in a celebration known as Bastille Day.

Works Cited

Biblography
Levy, Darline G., Harriett B. Applewhite, and Mary D. Johnson. "Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791." Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789-1795. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1980. 87-96. Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Murphy, Gerald. "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen." Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Cybercasting Services Division of the National Public Telecomputing Network, 18 Oct. 1998. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

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