The Society of the Rights of Man (french: Société des droits de l'homme, SDH) was a French republican association with Jacobin roots, formed during the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

in 1830, replacing another republican association, the Society of the Friends of the People (France). It played a major role in the June riots of 1832 in Paris and the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 F ...

Origins

The origins of the Society had its foundations on a previous organization, The Friends of the People (french: Société des Amis du Peuple)'. This organization was founded in a meeting which took place on July 30. It created the first draft of the societies' Manifesto and coincided with the publication of the famous ''Proclamation du duc d'Orléans'' by Adolphe Thiers. After a failed attempt to discuss their grievances with their municipality, the Society of Friends of the People published their manifesto in the republican newspaper The Tribune of the Departments ().
Following the publication of their manifesto they continued their activity; protesting the crowning of

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

. Originally 120 members the Society began to gain traction, eventually reaching more than 300. Admission relied on either notoriety or on declarations of patriotism. Speeches given would draw in a reasonable crowd; Claude cites around 1500. However, mirroring the events of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

it lacked working class men. It was officially dissolved in December 1832. Most of the big names like Blanqui, Ulysse Trélat (politician) and other known politicians were all acquitted.

Organization

The SDH was modelled on another French secret Society, the Charbonnerie, organised in small groups of less than twenty members, each given names that evoked Jacobin tradition: 'Robespierre', 'Marat', 'Babeuf', 'Louvel', 'Blackjack January', 'War with the castles', 'Washington', etc. They were a nationwide organisation, consisting of group sizes of between 10 and less than 20 members, this allowed them to circumvent the law which required a permit for groups of more than 20 members (this law was amended in February 1834). They were the first organisation to extend its educational activities to the working class. In Paris, there were 170 groups with a total of approximately 3 000 members. Its network extended into the province and would account, according to then police reports, approximately 4 000 members. The official publication of the organisation was '' La Tribune des départements'' published by

Armand Marrast Armand Marrast (June 5, 1801, Saint-Gaudens–April 12, 1852, Paris) was a French politician and mayor of Paris. See also * List of presidents of the National Assembly of France * List of mayors of Paris The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de ...

. It published very revolutionary articles often insulting the King

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

and its government.

Members and principles

The management committee of the SDH was made up of representatives of the extreme-left like Audry de Puyraveau or Voyer d' Argenson, and of young republican militants such as Éléonore-Louis Godefroi Cavaignac, Joseph Sobrier or Joseph Guinard. Moderates included Antoine Richard du Cantal, the German writer

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...

(author of ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'', amongst other works), although this is not proven. But soon the radical elements gained the upper hand and published a manifesto on "" in the journal ''

La Tribune ''La Tribune'' () is a French weekly financial newspaper founded in 1985 by Bruno Bertez. Its main competitor is the French newspaper '' Les Échos'', which is currently owned by LVMH. From 1993 to 2007, ''La Tribune'' was part of LVMH. In 2010 ...

'' on October 22, 1833, demanding a return to a government along Jacobin principles: strict secularity; economic and educational leadership of the state, strict limitation of private property; nationalization and planning of the economy; etc. And insurrection and revolution was the way to achieve this goal. In 1834, Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure a lawyer and member of the Society associated the three famous terms together and published it in the '' Revue Républicaine'' which he edited: "Any man aspires to liberty, to equality, but he can not achieve it without the assistance of other men, without fraternity." (abridged translation, ''Realms of Memory'', Columbia University Press, 1996–1998).

Activities and history

During the funeral of

General Lamarque Jean Maximilien Lamarque (22 July 17701 June 1832) was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of the French Parliament. Lamarque served with distinction in many of Napoleon's campaigns. He was particularly noted f ...

riots broke out on June 5–6, 1832 organised by the Society. These were brutally put down by the police. Further riots followed in Lyons and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1834. In April 1834, there were serious disturbances broke out in Paris following the passing of a law to curtail the activities of the Republican Society of Human Rights (changing the allowed group sizes) which spread to Lyons. The disturbances were brutally put down by the army. It took 13,000 police and 4 days of fighting to put down the riot. All people living in an apartment block in the Rue Transnonain from where reportedly shots had been fired were massacred. This event was "caricatured" by the journal '' La Caricature'' under its editor

Charles Philipon Charles Philipon (19 April 1800 – 25 January 1861) was a French lithographer, caricaturist and journalist. He was the founder and director of the satirical political journals '' La Caricature'' and of ''Le Charivari''. Early life Cha ...

, specifically in a lithograph by its prized satirical draughtsman

Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808February 10, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second N ...

, entitled ''Rue Transnonain, le 15 Avril 1834''. According to a slightly different account, the lithograph was designed for the subscription publication '' L’Association Mensuelle''. The profits were to promote freedom of the press and defrayed legal costs of a lawsuit against the satirical, politically progressive journal ''

Le Charivari ''Le Charivari'' was an illustrated magazine published in Paris, France, from 1832 to 1937. It published caricatures, political cartoons and reviews. After 1835, when the government banned political caricature, ''Le Charivari'' began publishing ...

'' to which Daumier contributed regularly. The police discovered the print hanging in the window of printseller Ernest Jean Aubert in the

Galerie Véro-Dodat The Galerie Véro-Dodat is one of the covered passages of Paris. It is located in the 1st arrondissement, connecting the Rue de Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Rue de Croix-des-Petits-Champs. It was built in 1826. History Galerie Véro-Dodat was built ...

(a passageway in 1st arrondissement) and subsequently tracked down and confiscated as many of the prints they could find, along with the original lithographic stone on which the image was drawn. Existing prints of are survivors of this effort. On July 28, 1835 a Corsican member of the Society

Giuseppe Marco Fieschi Giuseppe Marco Fieschi (13 December 1790 – 19 February 1836) was a Corsican mass murderer, and the chief conspirator in an attempted assassination of King Louis-Philippe of France on 28 July 1835. The attack on the King and his entourage ...

, together with two compatriots, attempted to assassinate King

using an "infernal machine" consisting of 20 gun-barrels bound and detonated together. Although 17 people died, the King survived. Fieschi himself was injured, captured, then nursed back to health only to be sentenced and subsequently guillotined.

Notable members

* Antoine Richard du Cantal * Audry de Puyraveau * Voyer d' Argenson *

Godefroy Cavaignac Godefroy, a surname of Old French origin, and originally a given name, cognate with Geoffrey/Geoffroy/Jeffrey/Jeffries, Godfrey, Gottfried, etc. Godefroy may refer to: People Given name * Godefroi, Comte d'Estrades (1607–1686), French diplomat a ...

* Joseph Sobrier * Joseph Guinard * Antoine Richard du Cantal *

References

{{Authority control 1830 establishments in France 1840 disestablishments in France Secret societies in France Political parties established in 1830 Organizations disestablished in 1840 July Monarchy