It was during the French Revolution, where the Ancien regime, which ruled for 100 years, was being overthrown. During that time, most of Europe was organized into a hierarchy, where the king and the church had all the privileges. Otherwise, the majority of people, known as …show more content…
The Declaration offered a single set of individual and collective rights to the men of France, making it one of the foundations of a modern government. Inspired by the American Revolution and the Enlightenment philosophers, the Declaration changed democracy.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in particular, borrowed many aspects of the Declaration. The Declaration introduced rights such as the freedom of being treated fairly and that the government must protect it's citizen's rights. It also puts emphasis on laws that prevent harm in society and the assurance that no group asserts authority over another, not even the government.
Although the Declaration was the foundation of a modern democracy, it was amended over time due to its age. For example, some people had political freedoms while others did not. Active citizenship was only for men who were at the age of 25 or older, compared to Canada, where active citizenship was for all Canadian citizens who was at the age of 18 or older. Furthermore, women were not as regarded with the same freedoms the declaration promised them, while in Canada, females also had rights provided by the Charter. In fact, the Declaration did not revoke slavery, which is now illegal. Therefore, the Declaration was a beginning of a new democracy, although not