The significance of the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789 during the French Revolution, lay in its assertion of individual freedoms and the principles of popular sovereignty. This foundational document embodied Enlightenment ideas, proclaiming that all men are born free and possess equal rights, which included liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. By establishing a framework for civil rights and establishing legal equality, the declaration influenced human rights movements around the world and became a crucial precedent in the evolution of democratic governance.