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Primary sourceDocument22 July 1789

Préliminaire de la constitution

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès · 22 July 1789

Sieyès' July 1789 draft declaration of rights, which introduced his distinction between active and passive citizens.

Sieyès' own draft declaration of rights, introducing ideas that influenced the final national declaration.

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Scanned title page of a printed pamphlet. Large heading reads 'PRÉLIMINAIRE DE LA CONSTITUTION', followed by 'RECONNOISSANCE ET EXPOSITION RAISONNÉE Des Droits de l'Homme & du Citoyen' and 'Par M. l'Abbé Sièyes'. Imprint at bottom: 'A VERSAILLES' and 'A LYON'. Aged cream paper with a blue-green binding edge on the left.
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, Préliminaire de la constitution, 22 July 1789.

About this source

What it is

A printed pamphlet written by Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, published in July 1789 while he was a deputy for Paris and secretary of the National Assembly. It presents a preliminary declaration and reasoned statement of the rights of man and citizen.

Why it matters

This was Sieyès' own draft of a declaration of rights, written as the Assembly worked toward what became the official Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. It introduced his distinction between "active" and "passive" citizens, an idea that shaped debates over who could vote and take part in politics.

Look closer

  • Why might Sieyès have wanted to publish his own version before the Assembly agreed on an official text?
  • What might the distinction between active and passive citizens mean for who gets political rights?
  • How does this draft compare with the final Declaration?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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