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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: Declaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) is a human rights document adopted in the early stages of the French Revolution (1789-1799). Inspired by Enlightenment Age principles...
Article
Natural Rights & the Enlightenment
The idea of natural rights is the concept used in philosophy and legal studies that a person has certain rights from birth and which, because they were not awarded by a particular state or legal authority, cannot be removed, that is, they...
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Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789
A representation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, oil on canvas by Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier, c. 1789.
Musée Carnavalet, Paris.
Definition
Declaration of Pillnitz
The Declaration of Pillnitz was a joint statement issued on 27 August 1791 by Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1790-1792) and King Frederick William II of Prussia (r. 1786-1797). The declaration appealed to all European powers to unite...
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Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the foundational document of the United States of America. Written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it explains why the Thirteen Colonies decided to separate from Great Britain during the American Revolution...
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Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (French Revolution: Part 4)
The long-awaited fourth installment of my French Revolution series addresses the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, which was passed by the National Assembly in 1789. The Declaration outlines the principles of the French Revolution...
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The Life of Diogenes of Sinope in Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes of Sinope (c. 404-323 BCE) was a Greek Cynic philosopher best known for holding a lantern to the faces of the citizens of Athens claiming he was searching for an honest man. He was most likely a student of the philosopher Antisthenes...
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Women in the Russian Revolution
Women actively participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the two revolutions of 1917, which deposed the tsar and established a Bolshevik government. Women worked both within the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) and in...
Definition
State of Nature
The state of nature is an idea which became especially popular with certain philosophers during the Enlightenment, notably Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). It refers to a state of existence...
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was an American lawyer, statesman, philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. A prominent figure of the American Revolution, he wrote the Declaration of Independence and later served as the first...