One major significance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was that it was one of the first European governing documents to apply the concepts of the Enlightenment to the governing of a country. This document shifted the source of political authority in France from a system based on privilege and inheritance to one based on the concept of universal natural rights and democracy. France, as well as much of the rest of the world at the time, had never extended equal political rights to such a large segment of the population. This would go on to inspire subsequent movements elsewhere in the coming decades.

Prior to the ratification of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, France had been governed by the whims of monarchs who wielded near-absolute power. The vast majority of the population had almost no rights and were subject to frequent abuse by nobles and the Church. This documented was a watershed moment for the nation as it enumerated the rights of the French people so that they could hopefully be free from future abuses of power. Of course, this was not always applied fairly and few rights were extended to women. Slavery was still permitted under this new system as well. However, it was the first time democratic ideals were made law in France.

This document, along with others like is such as the US Bill of Rights, would go on to inspire many others. For instance, many parts of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights borrow ideas and language directly from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was perhaps the most critical document to emerge out of the French Revolution, defining its foundational principles moving forwards. As other contributors have already pointed out, it has had key importance in influencing subsequent political thought, and informing our concept of rights.

At the same time, more immediately, it represented a profound break within the political history of France when viewed within the context of the Revolution and the Absolutist State which preceded it. It should be understood that the Old Regime (viewed as a political system) was founded upon the concept of privilege and distinction. Ultimately, politics and governance was understood as relational in nature, with each of the innumerable subgroups that made up the nation of France possessing its own personal relationship with the Monarchy, which stood at the center of the web, holding it together.

The French Revolution represented a dramatic break with those Absolutist traditions, but that alone is not sufficient: a new system must ultimately be created to replace it. This is what the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen represents: the founding principles of the Revolution, instituting a new polity which would be based in the concept of rights and equality under the law.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was very significant in French history. This document explained what rights people had in France. It was written by a committee of the National Constituent Assembly and was passed on August 26, 1789. This document was a key part of the ideals of the French Revolution. It eventually became the preamble to the French Constitution in 1791. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen had a preamble and seventeen articles. Each article outlined a basic right of the people. These rights included freedom of speech and religion, equal treatment before the law, property rights, and the concept of popular sovereignty. Unfortunately, there was no mention of the rights of women in the document, and it didn’t apply to slaves.

This document, as well as the US Bill of Rights, has become the baseline for human rights all people should have throughout the world. Therefore, this document is one of the most significant documents in world history.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a key pillar of international civil rights. It influenced the idea of individual freedoms and universal equality. The declaration was passed by the French Assembly and inspired the French Revolution, which ousted the monarchy and founded a republic. The document was inspired by the American Declaration and Enlightenment ideals.

The document is important because it informs the role of the citizens and the government and further asserts that the citizens have the right to choose and form their government. The idea was against the act of imposing a leader or a government upon the people. The ideas in the document also sought to limit the power and authority vested in an individual or a select group of people. The idea is important in addressing the issue of abuse of power by those in influential positions. The document also protected private ownership, opinions, freedom and asserted the need for accountability by public officials.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man, along with the Bill of Rights in the United States, has been hugely significant for the world as a whole.  It has helped to create the idea that people everywhere are entitled to basic human rights.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man takes ideas from the American Declaration of Independence (which was of course inspired by European Enlightenment thinkers) and makes them more specific.  Thomas Jefferson’s document talks about God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  The French document takes this further and specifies exactly what rights are included in Jefferson’s broad categories.  The French document is, in this way, very similar to the American Bill of Rights which was adopted by the US House of Representatives at almost exactly the same time.  The major difference is that the French document claims that these rights are inherent to all men (not including women at that time) whereas the American Bill of Rights is specifically about America.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man, then, is very important because it helped to bring about the idea that all people everywhere have a basic set of rights by virtue of the fact that they are human.  This idea is imperfectly applied today, but it remains as one of the basic ideas behind liberal democracies and behind many international bodies such as the United Nations.