Joseph Rosenblatt wrote :

> Apologies to the non US citizen listers though you may find this of
> interest.

This is my case. I'm always interested in a bit of history.

> No nation prior to this one had dared enumerate the rights
> and privileges of
> its citizens.

This is not entirely true. August 26th, 1789, which predates the Bill of
Rights by more than two years, marks the day the Déclaration des droits de
l'Homme et du Citoyen (Declaration of Man's and Citizen's Rights) was
published in France. This text, which was later included or referred to in
all later French consitutions (we've had, I believe, 8 of them - France is
not as stable, politically speaking, as the USA) forms the basis of
democracy and human rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(a document published, I think, by the United Nations) is openly inspired by
this French declaration.

It contains such basics as :

"Les hommes naissent libres et égaux en droits et le restent tout au long de
leur vie"
(Men are born equal in right and remain all along their life)
*** This one is the basis of Equality ***
"Tout homme est libre de ses opinions"
(Every man is free of his/her opinions)
*** This one is the basis of Freedom)

> The authors and ratifiers, though arguably many were of
> dubious background and character, were able to present a
> clear vision of the
> civil liberties that must be enjoyed by citizens of a free
> nation.

Yes, same remark goes for the French text. One can arguably regret the
reference to the MASCULINE noun of MAN, whereas a more contemporary
rendition would obviously refer to HUMAN BEING, that is, including all
genders.

Much in the same way, the full text refers to the "Citoyen" (citizen) as
being the basis for these newly (at the time) described rights and
liberties. It should be noted that indigenous people living in colonies were
not "citizens" but "subjects", therefore not eligible of the same rights. In
this definition, for instance, slavery was finally abolished in French
colonies only in 1848. And the indigenous residents of Algeria (though a
French territory at the time) were granted the status of "Citoyens" only in,
I believe, 1959 or 1960.

> Some
> previous governments had promised more rights, some had even
> delivered these
> rights, for a time. The difference with this document was
> that it was woven
> into the fabric of the nation. These rights were part of the
> very basis of
> the laws that made the nation, the Constitution. Take away
> these rights and
> the nation, its laws and freedoms will unravel.

Much in the same way, the 1789 Declaration is the very basis of the essence
of what it meant at the time to be French. In some way, it forms one of the
reasons why the American Founding Fathers so much admired French ideas.

In more than one way, the USA and France in the late 18th Century were
philosophically and politically evolving along similar paths. Then, to some
extent, they diverged, but that's a later story.

Not only US citizens should celebrate. Both the French Declaration and the
US Bill of Rights transcend nationalities and boundaries. I believe that
every citizen of the free world can claim to adhere to these fundamental
principles.

Thanks, Joseph, for this historical reference.

Christian Lheureux

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *