History glossary
Declaration of the Rights of Man
the 1789 statement of revolutionary principles declaring rights, legal equality, and national sovereignty.
- Category
- Document
- Region
- France
- Date range
- 1789
What it means
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in August 1789. It declared that citizens possessed rights, that law expressed the general will, and that sovereignty belonged to the nation.
