Don't Get Too Excited: This Is Only For Men And Citizens.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted by a National Assembly struggling to look legit and to have an impact on the catastrophe France was sliding into. The nation was deeply in debt and blocked at every turn from doing anything about it. The National Assembly needed to look calm and responsible, and the Declaration was their attempt to totally nail their job interview.

Meanwhile the French people were violently rioting because of everything from political oppression to food shortages. The Assembly desperately needed to show France that it was working for them and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen accomplished that at least somewhat. Many who weren't fans of the Enlightenment viewed the Declaration as a call for anarchy and war, while the angry mobs and the educated bourgeoisie were happy that someone had finally written down their basic rights.

Although, to be fair, they left a lot of people out of these rights.

Women and non-citizens weren't especially impressed. In 1791 women's rights activist Olympe de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen pointing out the flaws in a revolution that supposedly stands for equality, but that leaves out women entirely.

Take that, French dudes.

Abolitionist groups were also understandably disappointed that the Declaration was silent on slavery. Some representatives had wanted the practice outlawed, but were voted down. This isn't surprising considering they didn't even grant rights to servants or anyone who didn't own property.

The Good News? The Definition of "Citizen" Has Changed.

However, it's probable that a lot of people didn't know exactly what the representative meant by "citizen." Lower classes of people, including slaves, became some of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Declaration. The 1791 slave revolt in Haiti was inspired in part by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen—they weren't going to let a little detail like the definition of "citizen" get in their way.

As time has gone by everyone seems to have forgotten, or chosen to ignore, the fact that the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen didn't originally apply to everyone. In France it's still considered a document with legal precedent. The current French Constitution (written in 1958) treats the Declaration as a pseudo preamble.

Laws have been rejected because they conflict with the ideals stated in 1789, particularly those that explain equality, proving that the "Man and Citizen" part has a new modern interpretation. France of course offers voting and other rights to all citizens including women and people of all incomes. The Declaration was even used as the basis for the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which mimics the idea that all men are born equal with certain basic rights.

Let's hear it for progress, everyone.