Active Citizen Dbq

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The Enlightenment of the eighteenth century created a wide spread ideal that men were entitle to equal rights and protection under the law as a birth right; which led to The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789. Before the Enlightenment, John Locke 's Social Contract Theory of 1690 laid a foundation for the men of the eighteenth century to expand on. Another major contributor to the authors of the Declaration was the American Revolution. Because so many Frenchmen participated in the American Revolution and the colonies fight for independence from British control, the ideal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was a catalyst for the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789. The National Constituent …show more content…
What qualified a person to be a citizen of France, and if a person was a citizen then did that person qualify as an active or passive citizen. Abbe Sieyes, a French Roman Catholic abbé, clergyman and political writer, stated "All the inhabitants of a country should enjoy the rights of a passive citizen" (81), but he argued you could not be and active citizen without proving yourself worthy by attaining property. Jacques Thouret, revolutionary, lawyer, president of the National Constituent Assembly, proposed a pathway to active citizenship, but in also included who could be excluded. This becomes a recurring theme of the arguments. There were more people excluded from active citizenship than people which were included. Only one sixth of the population in 1789 qualified for active citizenship, or were able to hold political office; this translates to only 4.4 million out of the 26 million people of France. This leaves 21.6 million deprived of political rights in France. Here we have an agreement among the National Assembly "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” , but you cannot have political freedom unless you are a white man of property. This shows the lack of intention to be all inclusive in The Declaration of the Rights of Man and …show more content…
The Declaration was not intended to be a constitutional document. It was meant to be the preamble to a constitution. Jeffersonian influence is apparent is all seventeen points. The French National Assembly took on more difficult and enlightened debate regarding citizenship and made several forward thinking concessions to citizenship. By establishing a pathway for the poor and including the Jewish population, France was ahead of their time. With regard to the issue of women attaining any rights, France was on par with most of the world. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen has continued to be an influence in French politics and has been sighted to strike down tax legislation in France designed to differentiate between social classes. The Declaration has been a very positive document for France as a whole despite it tenuous

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