Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

article 9

Any man being presumed innocent until he is declared culpable if it is judged indispensable to arrest him, any rigor which would not be necessary for the securing of his person must be severely reprimanded by the law.

article 16

Any society in which the guarantee of rights is not assured, nor the separation of powers determined, has no Constitution.

article 14

Each citizen has the right to ascertain, by himself or through his representatives, the need for a public tax, to consent to it freely, to know the uses to which it is put, and of determining the proportion, basis, collection, and duration.

article 13

For the maintenance of the public force and for the expenditures of administration, a common contribution is indispensable; it must be equally distributed to all the citizens, according to their ability to pay. Everyone should contribute taxes according to their means

article 4

Liberty consists of doing anything which does not harm others: thus, the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the fruition of these same rights. These borders can be determined only by the law. Anyone can enjoy freedom as long as it doesn't impede on anyone else's freedom or disrupt the community

article 1

Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common good. Introduced the concept of meritocracy Distinction can only be made if you helped society, not just one person Made to abolish social classes

article 7

No man can be accused, arrested nor detained but in the cases determined by the law, and according to the forms which it has prescribed. Those who solicit, dispatch, carry out or cause to be carried out arbitrary orders, must be punished; but any citizen called or seized under the terms of the law must obey at once; he renders himself culpable by resistance. King can't arbitrarily send someone to jail

article 10

No one may be disturbed for his opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not trouble the public order established by the law. Freedom of religion

article 17

Property being an inviolable and sacred right, no one can be deprived of private usage, if it is not when the public necessity, legally noted, evidently requires it, and under the condition of a just and prior indemnity

article 11

The free communication of thoughts and of opinions is one of the most precious rights of man: any citizen thus may speak, write, print freely, except to respond to the abuse of this liberty, in the cases determined by the law.

article 2

The goal of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, safety and resistance against oppression. Ownership of land made people equal to aristocrats Land is the true wealth of people Voting established in 19th century limited the voting power to how much land you owned Land seen as a safe, sustainable investment

article 12

The guarantee of the rights of man and of the citizen necessitates a public force: this force is thus instituted for the advantage of all and not for the particular utility of those in whom it is trusted

article 5

The law has the right to forbid only actions harmful to society. Anything which is not forbidden by the law cannot be impeded, and no one can be constrained to do what it does not order.

article 6

The law is the expression of the general will. All the citizens have the right of contributing personally or through their representatives to its formation. It must be the same for all, either that it protects, or that it punishes. All the citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents. The King was the only person who had the power to make decisions, usually arbitrary Granted the right to elections

article 8

The law should establish only penalties that are strictly and evidently necessary, and no one can be punished but under a law established and promulgated before the offense and legally applied

article 3

The principle of any sovereignty resides essentially in the Nation. No body, no individual can exert authority which does not emanate expressly from it.

article 15

The society has the right of requesting an account from any public agent of its administration.