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Bill of Rights, 1689
The 1689 Bill of Rights emerged from the Glorious Revolution in 1688. It arose out of Protestant fears of Catholic resurgence under the Stuart monarchy. The Bill reaffirmed rights of Parliament and property owners. -
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
This declaration is one of the most influential documents in Western political history. In 1789, the National Assembly in France set forth ideals of natural and inalienable rights, wherein all men were equal before the law. It is important to note that these rights only extended to men. -
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this work in 1792 as a response to the National Assembly's gender-exclusionary voting and education policies. It is arguably a founding piece of feminist writing, though the term did not exist at the time. Wollstonecraft's argument ties into questions of industrialization and citizenship. -
La Marseillaise
The Marseillaise was written by Rouget de Lisle during the "second" revolution in France. First sung by troops from Marseille, the song has incredibly violent and galvanizing lyrics that decry the betrayal from the French elite. The song functions as a call to arms, and it remains the French national anthem today. -
The October Manifesto
The October Manifesto is an example of a document from a revolution that was meant to appease revolutionaries, not galvanize them. In response to the 1905 Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II made some constitutional reforms, including an elected Duma, though these reforms were mostly arbitrary. -
April Theses
Lenin's "April Theses" were delivered orally upon his return from Swiss exile. The Bolshevik leader demanded zero support for the Provisional Government, which he saw as a weak bourgeoisie. He also suggested putting in place a "dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry" under Bolshevik Party guidance.
