Enlightenment

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" written in 1789 and discusses how the ideals described in the work were seen to apply to men and women equally. The paper then compares this work to Olympe de Gouges' work "Declaration of the Rights of Women" written in 1791. It describes de Gouges' view of "The Declaration of the Rights of Man" and the changes made in the newer declaration.

Table of Contents:
"The Declaration of the Rights of Women" versus "The Declaration of the Rights of Man"
Conclusion: Enlightenment Optimism

From the Paper:

"De Gouges stresses a social contract that reinforces happiness, a happy government that is mutually agreed upon by both genders. She does not deny the need for law, although her system of law has aims of societal engineering, rather than merely protecting rights, as articulated in the first declaration. Despite her cynicism about the current relationship between the genders, even in her tract one can see the enlightenment optimism that rejected the ideas that human nature is flawed by original sin, a faith-based doctrine. If only humanity throws away its erroneous attitudes about bastardy and the inequality of women, then humanity is perfectible, just as the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" suggested that humanity's supposed tendency towards evil and error was rooted in constraint, rather than a lack of constraint. By eliminating bad laws, humanity's innate democratic goodness would emerge."

Sample of Sources Used:

• De Gouges. "The Declaration of the Rights of Women." 1791. The Internet Modern History Sourcebook. [24 Nov 2006] <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1791degouge1.html>
• "The Declaration of the Rights of Man." 1789. The Avalon Project. [24 Nov 2006] <http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/rightsof.htm>

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