Question 4

Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen articles

1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration. 16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all. 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.

Natural Law

A law or body of law that derives from nature is believed to apply to human actions.

Natural rights

A political theory that an individual enters a society with certain basic rights and no government can take it away from him/her.

Why is Enlightenment important

Enlightenment ideals inspired the American and French Revolutions.

Example of Enlightenment ideals found where

Enshrined in the declaration of rights of men and citizens

Principal Ideas of Enlightenment

Every person is born free and equal. Three rights life, liberty and property. Govt. created from consent of people. People can rebel against unjust rulers. Abolishment of torture and

Spread of Nationalism

Nationalism refers to the devotion for one's own nation's interests over those of all other nations. It signifies a particular love for the nation. It was an important factor in the development of Europe. In the 19th century, a wave of romantic nationalism swept the European continent, transforming its countries. Some newly formed countries, such as Germany, Italy and Romania were formed by uniting various regional states with a common "national identity". Others, such as Greece, Switzerland, Poland and Bulgaria, were formed by uprisings against the Ottoman Empire and Russia. More concisely, nationalism better defined these countries.[1] Storming of the Bastille, July 14th 1789. The French Revolution paved the way for the modern nation-state and also played a key role in the birth of nationalism across Europe where radical intellectuals were influenced by Napoleon and the Napoleonic Code, an instrument for the political transformation of Europe. Revolutionary armies carried the slogan of "liberty, equality and brotherhood" and ideas of liberalism and national self-determinism. National awakening also grew out of an intellectual reaction to the Enlightenment that emphasized national identity and developed a romantic view of cultural self-expression through nationhood. The key exponent of the modern idea of the nation-state was the German G. W. Friedrich Hegel. He argued that a sense of nationality was the cement that held modern societies together in the age when dynastic and religious allegiance was in decline. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars, the major powers of Europe tried to restore the old dynastic system as far as possible, ignoring the principle of nationality in favour of "legitimism", the assertion of traditional claims to royal authority. With most of Europe's peoples still loyal to their local province or city, nationalism was confined to small groups of intellectualcatzs and political radicals. Furthermore, political repression,

Which is more important to the development of modern Europe: the Enlightenment or the French Revolution/Napoleon? Choose one (or neither—provide an alternative thesis/argument) and provide arguments defending your position.

Neither is more significant. The question is an anachronism. It exists outside of time. You can not have the French revolution without the Enlightenment. If contingency was our metric maybe the Enlightenment, but I don't know if contingency is a good metric. Both are equally important.

Enlightenment

New insight into belief about government, religion, economics and religion. The ideas started in 1600s and reached it height in mid-1700s in Europe. It was started because the scientific revolution gave new ideas.

Progress

Society and Humankind can improve.

French Revolution important why

Spread revolutionary ideals through Napoleonic code. Inspired Nationalism

Declaration of Rights of man and citizen

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen), passed by France's National Constituent Assembly in August 1789, is an important document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights.[1] The Declaration was directly influenced by Thomas Jefferson, working with General Lafayette, who introduced it.[2] Influenced also by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place, pertaining to human nature itself. It became the basis for a nation of free individuals protected equally by the law. It is included in the beginning of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic (1946) and Fifth Republic (1958) and is still current. Inspired by the Enlightenment philosophers, the Declaration was a core statement of the values of the French Revolution and had a major impact on the development of freedom and democracy in Europe and worldwide

Liberty

The philosophes called for the liberties that the English people had won in their Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights.

Reason

Thinkers believed truth could be discovered through reasoning.

Happiness

Urges people to seek happiness while living on Earth.

Nature

What is natural is also good and reasonable.

Social Contract

When people hand over their rights to the ruler and in exchange they get law and order.