One-third of the French Revolution motto, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," equality was a trait that France was seriously lacking in the late 1700s.
They had a social system that was based on inequality, where people with noble titles enjoyed immense privileges that fully separated them from even well-off professionals. The only way to truly get ahead in Old Regime France was to convince the king to give you a title—and good luck with that, because that guy was stingy.
The representatives who approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen wanted to get rid of the system of nobility and make everyone equal. (Well, okay: not everyone, but all men who owned property, which was still a big deal at the time.)
Questions About Equality
- Why do you think that the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen mentions both equality and liberty, but neglects fraternity?
- Is it possible to have an egalitarian society and still preserve the monarchy and titles of nobility or are the two ideas entirely contradictory?
- Based on their ideas of equality is it fair to call the representatives of the National Assembly the world's first communists? Why or why not?
Chew on This
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen did nothing to bring France closer to an egalitarian society as evidenced by the fact that the revolution ended with Napoleon in charge as emperor creating an even more structured class system.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen brought the world one small step closer the equality by simply suggesting that it could exist for anyone not born into privilege and power.