Human Rights: The US Constitution, Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Enlightenment era was marked by a series of intellectual revolutions, most notably the concept of human rights. The philosophy of John Locke that all human beings possessed certain inalienable rights to their person was highly influential in the definition of rights enshrined in the US Constitution. The US Constitution has set the tone for many subsequent declarations of human rights and attempts to define what rights cannot be taken away by any sovereign, government, or other governing body, including the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) and the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As well as granting freedom of speech, the First Amendment of the US Constitution stipulates the right of citizens to petition for redress of grievances from the government. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man more generally declares that the purpose of government is to serve human beings not vice versa: “The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man” (2). The UN Declaration explicitly and even more loosely affirms the right to express political opinions in Article 2....

In the US Constitution, the Fifth Amendment strictly prohibits individuals from conviction without trial. The Rights of Man states, “…no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense” (8). The UN Declaration of Human Rights holds, “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him” (10). Although very different in their wording, all three documents state that due process rather than arbitrary imprisonment is a right of all persons.
Finally, all three documents affirm the right…