Title: Human Rights in the US & the International Community — Foundation: Unit II. What Are Human Rights and Where Do They Come From? — The French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
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Content: Maximilien Robespierre
Unfortunately, one of the leaders of the French Revolution who rose to power briefly became a despot in his own right. Maximilien Robespierre, a popular lawyer and member of the National Assembly, aligned with radical revolutionaries. He became so powerful he in effect led France from 1793 to 1794. He was strongly influenced by the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. But Robespierre was ruthless in his efforts to bring about an “ideal” society, creating a state religion, revoking rights to property and legal defense, and executing nobles and revolutionaries alike as “enemies of the Revolution”. In defending the Revolution, he created a government as tyrannical as the monarchy. Robespierre’s leadership, and the Reign of Terror he created, ended in 1794, when he was arrested, tried, and guillotined. The Rights of Man and the Citizen
By Alonzo Chappel
Marquis de Lafayette
Looking to the US Declaration of Independence as a model, the National Assembly drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789, even though the revolution was far from over. The French Declaration, drafted by Marquis de Lafayette, was intended as part of a transition from absolute monarchical rule to a form of constitutional or representative government. Like the American Declaration, the French Declaration also appealed to Enlightenment principles such as popular sovereignty, equal rights, and equal opportunity.