Which document identified the natural rights of the French citizens and their liberties?

• A. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
• B. Constitution of 1791
• C. Civil Constitution of the Clergy
• D. Napoleonic Code

Answer: (A)

Identifying the inherent rights of citizens and their liberties is what this item focuses on. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, adopted by the French National Assembly in 1789, states that rights such as liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression are innate and not granted by the king. It also enshrines equality before the law, freedom of speech and religion, and due process, placing sovereignty in the hands of the people. This makes it the best answer because it explicitly frames rights as natural rights of citizens, guiding revolutionary ideology and subsequent constitutional development. The other documents serve different purposes: the Constitution of 1791 creates a constitutional monarchy, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy reorganizes the church under state authority, and the Napoleonic Code codifies civil law under Napoleon, balancing order with revolutionary principles but not functioning as the universal declaration of natural rights.