In both the American and French revolutionary doctrines, the goal is to inspire and rouse a nation into rebellion. In order to complete such a monumental task, the authors center their declarations on the idea that citizens\u2019 natural and \u201cinalienable\u201d rights are being taken away by the current government.\u00a0 In both the Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of the Rights of Man, natural rights are defined as god-given life, property, and liberty.\u00a0 Both doctrines emphasize that liberty lies in the insurance of safety and happiness of every man.<\/p>\n
In The Declaration of Independence, Jefferson states that men are \u201cendowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights\u201d such as \u201clife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u201d[i]<\/a> The Declaration of Rights of Man states that among the \u201cimprescriptible rights of man\u201d are \u201cliberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.\u201d[ii]<\/a>\u00a0 Every man is born with certain rights, which are given to him by God and cannot be taken away by any government.\u00a0 These documents both go on to explain that when these natural rights are taken away, it is also the right of man to rebel and resist oppression.<\/p>\n The documents have many connections to John Locke\u2019s second treatise, in which he argues that all humans belong to God, are born as equals, and therefore should live as equals.[iii]<\/a> This philosophy is very prevalent throughout the revolutionary doctrines.\u00a0 In The Declaration of the Rights of Man, the National Assembly argues that \u201ccivil distinctions\u2026can be founded only on public unity,\u201d[iv]<\/a> stressing Locke\u2019s idea that men are naturally equal and inequality only comes as a result of society\u2019s artificial distinctions.\u00a0 The focus of the American and French doctrines is that governments should protect equality and prevent restrictive class distinctions.<\/p>\n Every man has natural rights, but if the expression of one man\u2019s rights infringes on another\u2019s rights, then (and only then) his rights must be restrained.\u00a0 The doctrines contend that liberty results from every man expressing his rights but never violating another\u2019s. Man\u2019s \u201cunalienable rights\u201d are unalienable until they interfere with the happiness of society.<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Representatives of the United States, \u201cThe Declaration of Independence,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings<\/em> (Mineola: Dover Publications Inc., 2003), 63-64.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ii]<\/a> National Assembly of France, \u201cDeclaration of the Rights of Man,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings<\/em> (Mineola: Dover Publications Inc., 2003), 80.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [iii]<\/a> \u201cSocial Contract Theory,\u201d Celeste Friend, Last modified October 15, 2004. http:\/\/www.iep.utm.edu\/soc-cont\/#SH2b.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [iv]<\/a> National Assembly of France, \u201cDeclaration of the Rights of Man,\u201d in The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings<\/em>, 80.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In both the American and French revolutionary doctrines, the goal is to inspire and rouse a nation into rebellion. In order to complete such a monumental task, the authors center their declarations on the idea that citizens\u2019 natural and \u201cinalienable\u201d … Continue reading
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