📜 Source A: Primary Source

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) – Selected Articles
Proclaimed by the French National Assembly, 26 August 1789. Language has been simplified for clarity.

Preamble: The representatives of the French people, believing that ignorance and disregard of the rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortunes, have resolved to set out the natural, sacred, and undeniable rights of every person.

Article 1: All men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may only be based on what is useful to all of society.

Article 2: The purpose of every political organisation is to protect the natural rights of every person. These rights are: liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

Article 6: The law is the expression of the will of the people. All citizens have the right to take part in making the law, either directly or through their chosen representatives. The law must be the same for everyone — it must protect equally and punish equally. All citizens are equal before the law and are equally able to take up public positions and jobs, based on their ability alone.

Article 11: The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen may therefore speak, write, and publish freely.

📖 Source B: Secondary Source

The Rights Proclaimed During the French Revolution – A Historian's Summary
Written by a historian for educational purposes.

Before the French Revolution, French society was divided into three groups called "estates." The First Estate was the clergy (church leaders), the Second Estate was the nobility (wealthy lords and nobles), and the Third Estate included everyone else — merchants, farmers, and the poor. The first two estates had enormous privileges: they paid very little tax and held most of the power, while ordinary people struggled under heavy taxes and had almost no say in how the country was run.

When the Revolution began in 1789, one of the most important changes was the proclamation of new rights for all citizens. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was a landmark document that stated, for the first time in France, that all men were free and equal. It declared that the law should apply to everyone in the same way — a noble could not escape punishment simply because of their title, and a poor person deserved the same legal protection as a rich one.

The Declaration also protected freedom of speech and the right to own property. These were radical ideas at the time because, under the old system, the King and the nobility could take land or imprison people without proper legal reason.

However, historians also note the limitations of these rights. Women were not included — the Declaration referred only to "men," and women had no right to vote or hold public office. Enslaved people in French colonies were also not freed immediately. Activist Olympe de Gouges protested by writing her own Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791, demanding equal rights for women.

Despite these limitations, the ideas proclaimed during the French Revolution were hugely influential. They helped inspire later movements for human rights around the world, including the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which forms the foundation of many of the rights we value in Aotearoa New Zealand today.

🔍 Part 1: Understanding the Sources

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✏️ Part 2: Thinking Deeper