# Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1789-declaration-of-the-rights-of-man-and-of-the-citizen
Location: Paris
Categories: main-event

The Assembly proclaimed principles of liberty, equality, sovereignty and legal rights. Within the broader French Revolution period, The Revolution dismantled legal privilege and absolute monarchy, declared new rights and created a republic. War, popular mobilization, civil conflict and political terror repeatedly transformed the revolutionary state. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Louis XVI (King of France). Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen mattered because it changed the legal or constitutional framework within which French institutions and citizens operated.

Ruler at the time: [Louis XVI](https://history-france.com/rulers/louis-xvi)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Declaration+of+the+Rights+of+Man+and+of+the+Citizen&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Declaration+of+the+Rights+of+Man+and+of+the+Citizen)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)