Which document is associated with Enlightenment ideals of universal rights and liberal governance during the French Revolution?

• A. The Napoleonic Code
• B. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
• C. The Constitution of 1793
• D. The Concordat

Answer: (B)

Enlightenment ideals emphasize universal rights and government based on the consent of the governed. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789, articulates liberty, equality before the law, security, and the right to resist oppression, while stressing that law should reflect the general will and limit sovereign power. This combination—natural rights, legal equality, and a framework for liberal governance—captures the era’s most famous articulation of universal rights during the French Revolution. The Napoleonic Code focuses on civil law and order under Napoleon, not on universal rights; the Constitution of 1793 was a revolutionary experiment that is less emblematic of enduring liberal principles; and the Concordat addresses church–state relations rather than rights-based governance.