Declaration of the Rights of Man

The Seventeen Articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man:

1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.

Translation: All men are born with the same freedom and rights, and that can only be changed when one does something against the greater good.

2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

Translation: The goal of all political agreements is to maintain or protect the natural and inalienable rights of man.

3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
Translation: Basically it is saying that only authorized personel or government officials of the nation have a say in politics.

4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.

Translation: You have the freedom to do as you please, but once you harm someone else in anyway that freedom ends.

5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
Translation: Basically it is saying if it is not forbidden by law, no one can stop you from doing it.

6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
Translation: So in summary, Everyone under the law is equal, and the man is only limited by himself. A man's limitations are of his innate abilities or disabilities.

7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.
Translation: The law is the only thing that can justify if a man should be accused, arrested or put in jail. The citizens or the people must be aware of the consequences that will follow with breaking the law.

8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.
Translation: The people can only be punished by the law.

9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law.
Translation: A man is innocent until proven guilty. The man will recieve treatment as if he is an innocent, unless he refuses to comply with the law.

10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
Translation: One is entitled or has the right to have his own opinions, religious views, as long as it does not disturb the people or go against the law.

11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
Translation: Just like the 1st amendment of the american bill of rights in the constitution, This is stating that one has the right or the freedom of speech and press, but only to a certain extent.

12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.
Translation: The military is subject to protect the nation and the people within it.

13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.
Translation: A tax or payment that is determined by the people or their representatives is essential to pay for the military and must be paid by everyone.

14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
Translation: The necessity for the tax, the amount, how it should be collected and what it should be used for is decided by the people or their representatives.

15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
Translation: Every official must keep a record of his administration and must be given to one upon request.

16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.
Translation: In order for a society to function, it requires the laws to be enforced, a separation in powers must be definitive, and a constitution must be written.

17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.

Translation: One's right to own or have property is natural. It cannot be taken by anyone but the law. The law can only take it if it is of a public need and if the one is completely and previously informed about it.

My Comment:

This picture reminds me of the Ten Commandments of Christianity. In this illustration,

The Declaration of the Rights of Man is using the image of the two angels to represent the protectors to the document. This may cause a conflict between the certain religion that is reflected and the ones that others may believe in. The "All-seeing eye" in the pyramid at the top can be seen as God's eye guiding the people in the right direction and watching over the people of the nation. In this case, the document and the visual representations that surround it may be an intentional way to encourage Christianity with the creation of the declaration.

French Revolutions Terms

The Estates General-
The Estates General was a meeting in 1789. It was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates General. It was a general assembly that represented the French collection of peoples. This assembly showed that they were independent from the Crown. It led to the French Revolution.

1st Estate-
The first estate consisted of the entire clergy. The higher clergy was composed of people from families involed with the 2nd estate. The bishops of France were noblemen and the lower clergy. The Lower clergy consisted of monks, priests, and nuns, which made up about 90% of the first estate. The responsibilities of the clergy included: being in charge of the records between births, deaths, and marriages. The Clergy collected tithe and censored books. They also served as moral police, administered schools and hospitals, and distributed relief to the poor.

2nd Estate-
This estate consisted of nobles. The Nobles in French society had the rights: to hunt, to wear a sword, have a coat of arms, and to possess a fief or seigneurie. Nobles were not required to pay taille, a tax ordered by the king, unless it was on non-noble lands that they might have possessed. Only nobles were allowed to have certain military, civic, and ecclesiastic positions. The Nobles were required to honor, serve, and advise the king. They were also required to follow orders of their military services.

3rd Estate-
The third estate consisted of people who weren't in the first or second estate, the commoners. The commoners consisted of peasants, laborers, and the bourgeoisie. The laborers were paid very little money and the peasants didn't have any sort of a job.

Bourgeoisie-
The bourgeoisie were the more affluent members of the third estate. The Bourgeoisie were workers who earned their money. They usually were self-employed proprietors, small employers , entrepreneurs , bankers, or merchants.

Declaration of the Rights of Man-
This was a document created during the French Revolution which is stating that all the individual and collective rights of every man are universal. This declaration was influenced by the doctrine of natural rights. It is clearly stating that the rights of man are universal. The Declaration stated that all men without exception or citizens had the universal rights. I noticed that it didnt mention the rights of either women or slaves, just men.

Era of Mutual Discontent-
The subjects of society that weren't affluent, not of the clergy or nobility, and were members of the third estate, started to feel discouraged and unhappy. They all had the desire to make a stand to get the rights that they deserve.

National Assembly-
It was the first legislature established in the French Revolution in 1789. This was originally called upon or created to deal with financial crisis of the french, but it did not get any where close to solving that crisis because it did nothing other than argue about its own structure. The third estate assumed the role as the representatives for all the commoners, so it was granted double representation instead of just a small representation. Although they got double representation the assembly informed them that the voting would be influenced by the estates as a whole, not by the number of members, so double representation was did nothing for them in the means of a say in control or power.

Tennis Court Oaths-
These were a pledge that was signed by 576 out of 577 members of the third estate along with a few members of the first estate. This oath was signed on June 20, 1789 inside a tennis court building near the Palace of Versailles. The one deputy that was recorded to not take the oath was Joseph-Martin Dauch. The oath stood as a marker of significance as the very first time the French citizens stood in defiance against King Louis XVI.

King Louis XVI-
August 23, 1754-January 21, 1793. He was the only king of France known to be executed. King Louis XVI was charged for treason and died by guillotine. He was made fun of because had a hard time having children in the beginning. King Louis XVI was suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of August 10, 1792. He was tried by the National Convention. He betrayed his people and attempted to flee from the country.

Maximilien Robespierre-
He was an important person during the French Revolution. He was the man who argued for human rights and was known for being an excellent argumentative representative who would stand up for his clients. Earlier, He was against the death penalty, which was odd because he pro-execution of King Louis XVI . Robespierre believed that the king must be sacrificed in order for to save the Revolution. He strongly believed that by being the king in the first place, he was a living danger to the state.

Reign of Terror-
This was a period of time that occured for four years and two months after the span of the French Revolution. It was the conflict between Girondins and Jacobins. It was estimated that about 16,000-40,000 people died. Among them, Several important leaders were executed.

Jacobins-
A Jacobin was a member of the Jacobin club. The majority of the members belonged to the more commoners of society, such as small shopkeepers, artisans, and even servants. Their leader was Maximilien Robespierre .

Committee on Public Safety-
This committee was set up by the National Convention in July 1793. They were responsible for denunciations, trials, and executions under the committee. This committee was composed of nine members in the start, but later increased to twelve. It was responsible for thousands of executions, that were committed inorder to justify the safety of the public of France.

Girondins-
It was a political group that existed within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. This group sybolized the Democratic Revolution's principle and had patriotic opposition towards the European powers that didn't have it.

"Common Sense" by Thomas Paine

My "Common Sense" Excerpts:

Excerpt #1:

"Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."

Found on-http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense2.htm

Summary:

So basically Paine is stating here in this excerpt that society is key in every state or country, but government even in its prime time is necessary even though it can bring out the miseries of the people. He is also stating that suffering the miseries caused by a government would be expected in a state without a government which raises the tragedies or disasters by causing one to think of what they themselves have in their state compared to another making it worse.

Excerpt #2:

"....the ELECTED might never form to themselves an interest separate from the ELECTORS, prudence will point out the propriety of having elections often: because as the ELECTED might by that means return and mix again with the general body of the ELECTORS in a few months, their fidelity to the public will be secured by the prudent reflection of not making a rod for themselves. And as this frequent interchange will establish a common interest with every part of the community, they will mutually and naturally support each other, and on this, (not on the unmeaning name of king,) depends the STRENGTH OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE HAPPINESS OF THE GOVERNED."

Found on-http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense2.htm

Summary:

Here in this excerpt Paine is saying that the elected positions of a government must not separate their desires from the peoples. He is stating that the elected positions must be mixed up or re-elected to secure that the peoples desires are put first and that one man does not have too much control for a long period of time, keeping the government fresh and strong while keeping the people happy.

Excerpt #3:

" 'Tis not in numbers but in unity that our great strength lies: yet our present numbers are sufficient to repel the force of all the world. The Continent hath at this time the largest body of armed and disciplined men of any power under Heaven: and is just arrived at that pitch of strength, in which no single colony is able to support itself, and the whole, when united, is able to do any thing. Our land force is more than sufficient, and as to Naval affairs, we cannot be insensible that Britain would never suffer an American man of war to be built, while the Continent remained in her hands. "

Found on-http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense5.htm

Summary:

In this excerpt, Thomas Paine is saying that strength is not found in the size of a country or the country's population, but it in its unified system of government, military, and customs. He is telling the common people among the colonies that they must unite in order to gain their independence from Britain or else they will never have the power in one colony to defeat them in battle.