US Constitution, Rights of Man, and UN Declaration Compared
This paper compares three landmark human rights documents — the US Constitution, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789), and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) — across three core rights: freedom of expression and religion, due process and protection from arbitrary imprisonment, and security of property and privacy. Rooted in Enlightenment philosophy, particularly John Locke's concept of inalienable rights, these documents share a common intellectual heritage. The paper argues that the US Constitution served as a formative template, while the later French and UN declarations extended these principles into broader, more universal affirmations of human dignity.
- Introduction: Enlightenment Origins of Human Rights: Locke's philosophy and the Constitution's influence
- Freedom of Expression and Religion: Comparing speech and religious liberty across documents
- Due Process and Protection from Arbitrary Punishment: Right to fair trial in all three declarations
- Property Rights and Privacy: Security of property and privacy protections compared
- Conclusion: The Constitution as a Formative Document: Constitution as template for universal rights declarations
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What makes this paper effective
- Direct textual comparison across three primary sources keeps the argument grounded in evidence rather than general assertion.
- Each body paragraph addresses a single right (expression/religion, due process, property), creating a clear and consistent parallel structure throughout.
- The conclusion moves beyond summary to offer an interpretive claim — that the Constitution was a "formative document" — giving the paper analytical weight appropriate for the topic.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses close reading and direct quotation from primary source documents to build a comparative argument. By citing specific articles and amendments alongside verbatim passages, the student demonstrates how to anchor interpretive claims in textual evidence without over-relying on secondary sources.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an Enlightenment-focused introduction establishing intellectual context, then moves through three thematically organized body paragraphs — each covering one right across all three documents — before closing with a synthesis paragraph that assesses the relative scope and significance of the documents. Five sections total, cleanly organized for a short comparative essay.
Introduction: Enlightenment Origins 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 shaping the rights enshrined in the US Constitution. The US Constitution set the tone for many subsequent declarations of human rights, including attempts to define what rights cannot be taken away by any sovereign, government, or other governing body. Two of the most significant documents to follow in this tradition are the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) and the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Freedom of Expression and Religion
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 the reverse: "The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man" (Article 2). The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly and even more broadly affirms the right to express political opinions in Article 19. Much like the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, the UN Declaration likewise affirms the right to religious freedom. The Declaration of the Rights of Man similarly states: "No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views" (Article 10).
References
America's Founding Documents. (1789). Retrieved from: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs
The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789). The Avalon Project. Retrieved from: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (1948). United Nations. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
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