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of Man and of the Citizen.” There is no question the
words in the French declaration were inspired by the
words written by Jefferson just 13 years before.
The French declaration said: “Men are born and
remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may
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The Declaration of Independence: Forming a New Nation
The people of France helped the American colonists gain their freedom
from Great Britain during the Revolution. In 1789, six years after the
American Revolution ended, the French rose up against their own king.
This illustration from 1789 shows one of the most famous moments of
the French Revolution, the storming of a royal prison called the Bastille
by a mob of French citizens.The French Revolution had been intended
to create a democratic government like that of the United States; in
fact, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
was modeled on the Declaration of Independence. However, the revo-
lution failed to create a stable democracy. By 1799 the French Republic
had fallen and Napoleon Bonaparte ruled the country.