Rights, Constitutions, and Citizens: Redefining Power

1. From Subjects to Citizens: Why Rights Suddenly Mattered

Under the Ancien Régime (before 1789), most people in France were subjects of the king, not citizens.

They had:

• Unequal legal status (three estates: clergy, nobility, Third Estate)
• No guaranteed written rights
• Very limited political voice (Estates-General rarely met)

By 1789, crisis and anger (tax inequality, food prices, royal debt) led many to argue that power should come from the people, not just from the king or tradition.

This module shows how revolutionaries tried to rewrite the rules of power through:

1. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 1789)
2. The Constitutional Monarchy of 1791
3. New ideas of citizenship and popular sovereignty

> As you go, keep asking: Who has power? Who gets rights? Who is included or excluded?

2. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): Big Ideas

Adopted in August 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen became a kind of rights “constitution” for the Revolution.

Key principles (in simple terms):

1. Natural and inalienable rights

• People are born with rights that cannot be taken away.
• Article 2 lists: liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

1. Equality before the law

• Article 1: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”
• No more special legal privileges for nobles or clergy.

1. Popular sovereignty

• Article 3: “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation.”
• Power comes from the nation (the people as a whole), not from God through the king.

1. Freedom of expression and religion

• Articles 10–11 defend freedom of opinion (including religious) and freedom of the press, as long as it doesn’t break the law or harm others.

1. Due process and fair punishment

• No arrest without lawful reason; punishments must be necessary and proportionate.

1. Taxation and representation

• Taxes should be approved by the people or their representatives and be fairly shared.

These ideas were radical in 1789 but are now core to many modern human rights systems.

3. Connecting 1789 to Today: Rights Mapping Exercise

Use this quick thought exercise to link the 1789 Declaration to modern human rights documents (like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, or your own country’s constitution if it has a rights section).

Task (3–4 minutes)

1. Copy this simple table into your notes and fill it in:

| 1789 Right (short version) | Article # | Modern equivalent (document + article/section) | Similarities | Differences |

|----------------------------|-----------|-----------------------------------------------|-------------|------------|

| Equality before the law | 1 | | | |

| Freedom of opinion | 10–11 | | | |

| No arrest without cause | 7–9 | | | |

1. For each right:

• Find a similar right in a modern document (e.g., UDHR Articles 1, 3, 9, 18, 19).
• Note one similarity (e.g., both protect freedom of religion).
• Note one difference (e.g., 1789 is silent on gender; modern texts are not).

1. Reflection question (write 2–3 sentences):

> In what ways do you think the 1789 Declaration is still modern, and in what ways does it feel outdated or incomplete today (in 2026)?

You do not need to be perfectly precise with article numbers; the goal is to see continuity and change in how rights are defined.

4. Limits and Contradictions: Who Was *Really* Included?

The Declaration used universal language (“all men”), but in practice it was not universal.

Key exclusions and tensions:

• Women
• Women were not granted full political rights (no vote, no office).
• In 1791, Olympe de Gouges responded with the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, pointing out the hypocrisy.

• Slavery and colonial subjects
• The 1789 Declaration did not immediately end slavery in French colonies.
• Enslaved people in places like Saint-Domingue (Haiti) had to fight for freedom; slavery was abolished in French colonies in 1794, then reintroduced in 1802, and finally abolished again in 1848.

• Property and “active citizens”
• The early revolutionary system linked full political rights to paying a certain level of taxes (we’ll see this in the 1791 Constitution).
• So, rights were universal in theory, but political power was restricted.

> Application question: If you were rewriting the Declaration today, which groups or issues would you make sure to include explicitly (e.g., gender, race, disability, digital rights)?

5. The 1791 Constitution: How a Constitutional Monarchy Worked

In 1791, France adopted its first written constitution, creating a constitutional monarchy.

Think of it as a power-sharing contract:

1. Separation of powers

• Legislative power: the Legislative Assembly (elected body) makes laws.
• Executive power: the king carries out laws but no longer rules by absolute will.
• Judicial power: courts apply laws; judges are elected.

2. The king’s new role

• Still head of state, but:
• Must swear an oath to the Constitution.
• Has a suspensive veto (he can delay a law, but not block it forever).
• Cannot pass laws alone.

3. “Active” vs “Passive” citizens

• Active citizens: men over 25 who paid a certain amount of tax → could vote.
• Passive citizens: everyone else (including women) → had civil rights but no political rights.

4. Local government and uniform law

• France was reorganized into 83 departments with more standardized administration.
• Aim: end regional privileges and create one national legal system.

This system tried to balance:

• Monarchy (to keep order and continuity)
• Representation (to respect the nation’s sovereignty)

But it was fragile, especially as the king’s loyalty came into question (e.g., his failed flight to Varennes in June 1791).

6. Power Balance Simulation: If You Were Designing 1791

Imagine you are part of the Constituent Assembly in 1791. You support a constitutional monarchy, but you must decide how much power the king keeps.

Task (5–6 minutes)

For each question, pick an option and justify your choice in 1–2 sentences.

1. Royal veto power

A. No veto at all

B. Suspensive veto (delay only)

C. Absolute veto (can permanently block laws)

1. Who can vote?

A. All adult men

B. Only men who pay a certain level of tax (like 1791)

C. All adults, regardless of gender or wealth

1. Control of the army

A. The king alone

B. The legislature alone

C. Shared control with clear rules

1. Religious freedom

A. Catholicism as state religion, others restricted

B. Catholicism preferred, but full tolerance of others

C. Full equality of all religions, no “official” religion

After answering, compare your choices to what the 1791 Constitution actually did:

• It chose B for veto (suspensive veto).
• It leaned toward B for voting (property-based male suffrage).
• It gave the king important roles with the army but under constitutional limits.
• It struggled with religious freedom, especially after the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790).

> Reflection: Based on your design, would your system be more stable or more democratic than the actual 1791 Constitution? Explain briefly.

7. Defining ‘Citizen’ and ‘Popular Sovereignty’ in the 1790s

Two core revolutionary ideas were citizenship and popular sovereignty.

Citizen (citoyen)

In the revolutionary sense, a citizen was:

• A member of the nation, not a subject of a ruler.
• Someone who has rights and participates (at least potentially) in making the law.

But in practice (especially in 1791):

• Full political citizenship was mostly for male, property-owning “active” citizens.
• Women, the poor, and many others were formally members of the nation but politically excluded.

Popular sovereignty

• The idea that all political power comes from the people (the nation).
• Governments and kings are delegates, not owners of power.

This was a major break from:

• Divine right monarchy (king’s power from God).
• Corporate privileges (special rights for estates, guilds, regions).

Why it matters today (2026)

Most modern democracies now base their constitutions on popular sovereignty:

• Laws are legitimate because they reflect the will of the people (directly or through elected representatives).
• Citizenship usually includes equal political rights, regardless of wealth, religion, or social origin.

> Application question: In your own country, what rights or duties are clearly linked to being a citizen (e.g., voting, jury duty, holding certain offices)? Which are shared by all residents, not just citizens?

8. Visualizing Change: From Pyramid to Circle

Use these two mental images to picture the shift in political power.

Ancien Régime: The Pyramid

Imagine a pyramid:

• At the top: King, with power seen as coming from God.
• Below: Clergy and Nobility, with special privileges and separate laws.
• At the base: Third Estate (everyone else), carrying the weight but with little voice.

Power flows downward from the top.

Revolutionary Model: The Circle

Now imagine a circle labeled “The Nation”:

• Around the edge: citizens, theoretically equal in rights.
• In the center: institutions (Assembly, courts, executive) that receive power from the nation.

Power flows outward from the people to the institutions.

Key takeaway

The Revolution did not instantly create full democracy, but it changed the basic story:

• From: “The king has power by birth and divine right.”
• To: “Any government must justify its power by the rights and will of the people.”

This narrative shift still shapes how we judge governments and constitutions today.

9. Quick Check: Rights, Constitutions, and Citizens

Answer the question, then check the explanation.

10. Review Key Terms

Flip the cards (mentally or in your notes) to review the core concepts.

11. Exit Task: Linking Past and Present

Spend 3–4 minutes on this short writing task.

1. Choose one of these prompts:

• A. Which single article or idea from the 1789 Declaration do you think is most important for people living in 2026? Why?
• B. If you could add one new right to the 1789 Declaration based on today’s world (e.g., digital privacy, environmental rights), what would it be and how would you phrase it?

1. Write one paragraph (4–6 sentences) responding to your chosen prompt. Try to:

• Use at least one key term from the flashcards (e.g., natural rights, citizen, popular sovereignty).
• Make one concrete connection to a modern example (a recent event, a law, or a right in your own country).

1. Optional extension:

Share your paragraph with a partner or class and discuss:

> Does your modern concern fit easily inside the 1789 framework, or does it challenge the way revolutionaries thought about rights and citizenship?