Okay, it's Real Talk time: the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen didn't actually do anything.
It was written based on the hopes and dreams of a bunch of representatives who'd grown up reading the works of Enlightenment philosophers and watching what those crazy Americans were doing on the other side of an ocean. These wannabe congressmen had bold plans that they were laying out in their Declaration—plans for an actual French constitution someday.
They didn't know if it would work, they weren't sure if their hopes would be realized, but dang it, they were going to dream big and see what happened next.
Questions About Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
- If the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen had included more than just male property owners do you think that the French Revolution would have turned out differently for France?
- Which of the articles in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen need additions made to them before they can be enforced? Explain your answer.
- Based on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, what do you think society would look like if the representatives and authors had succeeded in transforming the French government?
Chew on This
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is an unfinished document that reveals only the outline of a plan for a government, but is nowhere close to a completed project.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was the foolish dream of politicians too blinded by Enlightenment theories to understand the necessities of creating a real government.