It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
- Frederick Douglass |
The French Revolutions Impact of Rights
Author Anthony Makowski dove into the impact of the French Revolution on citizen's rights in Aspiration & Dissonance by Jeffrey Lamonica in the chapter “Aux Armes: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in Global Perspective”. The French Revolution intended for rights to be universal to all but were only relative to certain French citizens. Makowski distinctly exposed the intention for the universal obtention of rights during the fall of the French Revolution from the actual outcome. Rights were granted to more of the French population but were not globally during this time. He specifically announced, “With the desire to be sympathetic to the social and cultural traditions of a diverse community, the attempts to create a truly universal basket of human rights for over seven billion on the planet remains, to put it mildly, illusive (p.127)”. This claim labeled the intention for universal rights as deceptive even though it was a major concern. The unshackle of revolutionary ideas to expand modern liberties during the late 18th century “...fundamentally challenge established orders of government and found new societies based on reason and...equality (p. 128)”. The French first attempted to transform into a republic monarchy instead of a constitutional one to reflect the needs of French citizens who experienced inequality initially. The oppressed society craved societal and constitutional change. Including additional rights after suffering from food shortages, economic crisis, lost wars, bad harvests, bad press, and taxation that harmed the poor by taking more than half their profits, amongst many other challenges faced. Makowski went into detail about how Louis XVI called representatives from France together from various social classes and estates “...to try and break the financial crisis and secure new sources of revenue for the crown (p.129)”. His intentions aimed at assisting the monarchy at the time. But, the groups involved in the consultation had their own opinions and rebelled. One of these groups began to call themselves the National Assembly and represented the common French citizens. The French Revolution generally began when the French stormed Bastille. This symbolic destruction now represented independence and freedom for citizens. New strength formed in the process and a new government was being considered to “...better reflect the needs of French citizens (p. 130)”. In later years, the French constitution sought to create a set of rights for citizens. Although, many restrictions and law codes prevented those rights from becoming global. Makowski discussed how “declarations of human rights codified by states are a more recent development (p. 130)”. That meant the new set of rights was specifically for French citizens. This supported how the French Revolution’s transformative era was directed towards the improvement of French citizen's rights and authority rather than the rights of citizens globally. Although in time, many French governments claimed to abide by the new set of rights and did the opposite. In conclusion, the French Revolution intended for rights to be relevant to certain French citizens rather than globally. At the beginning of Aux Armes, the idea of sharing a universal set of human rights was said to be “elusive”. During this time, food shortages, extreme taxation, bad harvests, press, and more were very prevalent. Therefore, Louis XVI gathered representatives from multiple classes and attempted to find a solution for the tax crisis and other issues occurring at the time. After, the included representatives blamed Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. This resulted in the rise of the National Assembly and the creation of a new set of rights. These rights were granted to specific French populations and most were not upheld within every French government. Overall, the rights created were not applicable globally because they were codified by the state. The French Revolution possessed its own issues which caused a revolt and the French monarchy fell. Therefore, a new set of rights were put in place for those citizens and not universally.
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