Declaration of the Rights of Man Constitution

The concept of universal human rights may have been seeded by the Magna Carta, but did not reach fruition until the United States Constitution had been drafted in the late eighteenth century. Built on the Enlightenment values of individualism and inalienable universal rights, the Constitution helped lay the groundwork for the French Declaration of the Rights of the Man and of the Citizen in 1789. In fact, these two documents emerged almost concurrently, in light of the major ideological, social and political changes taking place in Europe and North America. Those attitudinal changes would later take root globally. The universal human rights espoused and made law in these two documents started a revolution that resulted in the creation of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Four rights found in all three of these documents include freedom, equality, and the subordination of the law to the dignity of the person, principles that have transformed the nature of human relationships and socio-political realities.
Since the adoption of the United States Constitution and the French Declaration of the Rights of the Man, the belief that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” has prevailed (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Article 1). Each of these documents recognizes the importance of government as a means of holding together a society that is dedicated to the preservation of human rights, but nothing more. Any government that is characterized by “tyranny and oppression” can be deemed illegitimate because it violates the fundamental tenets of human rights as outlined in these three documents (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, Preamble). All three of these documents proclaim the importance of national sovereignty, while still deeming tyrannical governments as being illegitimate. The conundrum between illegitimate tyrannical regimes and the right to national sovereignty continues to plague international relations. Therefore, these three documents radically transformed the legitimacy and nature of governments.
The Constitution of the United States is concerned mainly with the function, role, and structure of government, but its Bill of Rights is what really reflects the Enlightenment values of freedom, liberty, and universality. Even though it would take some time for these principles to become ensconced in law, universal human rights became the new ideal upon which societies would be formed. Throughout the world, governments pay lip service to the principles of universal human rights without actually ensuring the equal dissemination of those rights. In the United States as well as in France, half the population had no legal right to vote or even own property until only a hundred years ago—long after the Constitution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man (aptly worded) had been drafted. Slavery remained legal until long after the United States Constitution was ratified. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights still has not facilitated the emergence of just societies worldwide. Therefore, these documents remain ideals rather than reflections of reality.
Having a shared body of rights adds legitimacy and validity to these documents, but more importantly to the principles they embody. The time has come to put aside any notion of moral relativism; universal rights obfuscate caste systems and artificial social hierarchies. All three of these documents recognize the value and validity of a government that even includes a military force, but one that is in service to the public rather than the other way around. These documents also stress the importance of due process of law, providing all persons with the right to a fair trial in the face of any accusation. While the French document does not mention necessarily the freedom of the press, the right to free speech is implied in the language used to say that anything that is not harmful cannot be forbidden by law because doing so would impede the principle of liberty. Thanks to these three documents, the world is slowly but surely moving towards the promotion of universal human rights.






References

The Constitution of the United States (1787). https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789). http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/