CANADA HISTORY - DOCUMENTS UNITED STATES

1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen by the Marquis de Lafayette assisted by Thomas Jefferson

Analysis of the Document - (The Document follows below the Analysis)

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette with assistance from Thomas Jefferson, was a pivotal document during the French Revolution. While it may not seem immediately connected to Canadian history, its principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity influenced political thought worldwide, including in British North America. As revolutionary ideals spread, they shaped discussions about governance, individual rights, and colonial self-determination, eventually contributing to the broader democratic evolution in Canada.

The Declaration enshrined fundamental rights and framed the relationship between the state and the citizen in a way that resonated with other parts of the world. It declared that all men are born free and equal in rights, a principle that stood in stark contrast to the monarchical and colonial systems that had dominated Europe and its colonies, including British North America.

For Canada, the long-term influence of this document was felt as part of the transatlantic movement toward constitutional governance and representative democracy. Although Canada’s political evolution took a more gradual, reformist route compared to the radical upheaval in France or the American Revolution, the Declaration’s ideals inspired debates about responsible government and rights in British North America. Particularly in the 19th century, when Canada moved toward Confederation and self-government, the concept of individual liberty, as expressed in the Declaration, informed Canadian lawmakers and reformers.

More specifically, French-speaking Canadians in Quebec were drawn to the values of equality and civil liberties espoused by the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Even though French-Canadian political leaders had a complex relationship with revolutionary France, these ideals contributed to shaping the discourse around French-Canadian identity and the preservation of their civil rights under British rule.

Furthermore, the Declaration’s advocacy for a society based on merit rather than privilege resonated with reformers in Canada who sought to challenge entrenched colonial power structures. The progressive ideas embedded in the document found expression in movements for political reform, such as those that culminated in the Rebellions of 1837-38 in Upper and Lower Canada. These uprisings, though rooted in local grievances, were part of a broader global movement seeking to expand democratic rights and reduce the power of colonial elites.

By the time of Canadian Confederation in 1867, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen had become a cornerstone of modern democratic thought, influencing both Canada’s developing political framework and the country’s ongoing debates about individual rights versus state authority. Its legacy is reflected in the gradual development of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which emerged much later in the 20th century but was rooted in the same Enlightenment ideals of personal liberty and equality before the law.

In summary, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was more than a French revolutionary document. It had deep and lasting implications for the development of democratic principles in Canada, influencing the nation's gradual shift toward greater individual rights, equality, and responsible government, all of which became central tenets of Canadian political life. Its ideas helped pave the way for a more inclusive and rights-based society, resonating throughout Canada’s evolving history.

Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789

The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the 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.

Note: The above document was written by The Marquis de Lafayette, with help from his friend and neighbor, American envoy to France, Thomas Jefferson. Lafayette, you may recall, had come to the Colonies at age 19, been commissioned a Major General, and was instrumental in the defeat of the British during the American Revolutionary War. He considered one special man his 'father': George Washington. French King Louis XVI signed this document, under duress, but never intended to support it. Indeed, the Revolution in France soon followed, leading to the tyrannical rule of Napolean Bonaparte.